The Shadows
by wishmaker101
Summary: With Naruto's eighteenth birthday looming around the corner, strange things start to happen as he is forced into submission from an all too familiar presence that's been following him around for years. SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Period.**

**Chapter 1**

**The Encounter**

…...

"Do you believe in the unbelievable?"

"If it's the unbelievable, why should I believe in it?"

"Because Naruto, _you_ are a part of that unbelievable…"

…...

"I'm going out now Iruka!" Naruto yelled to his caretaker as he slipped one foot into the orange Nike shoe he'd gotten for Christmas last year.

"Okay, just don't get into any trouble okay!" Iruka replied from the kitchen.

Naruto was just about to grab the door knob that led to his freedom when Iruka's head popped around the corner.

"Naruto, is it gone? Or can you still feel it?" Iruka asked with concern, his face scrunching into a slight frown as he heard Naruto sigh.

"It's still there…" Naruto stated but turned around to smile, showing white pearly teeth to his father, "but don't stress out too much Iruka. Stress causes wrinkles and if Kakashi saw you with wrinkles, he'd leave you in a heartbeat."

Iruka's face dropped as quickly as Naruto turned the door knob and ran out. All concern flew out the door and Naruto quickly ran for his life. All he could hear was yelling in the background and loud screams of "see if I care!" or "trying to be a good parent".

"And he tells me I need to watch my temper," Naruto chuckled and continued walking to the park to meet his friends. He kept to himself quietly, just taking in the beautiful scenery that day. The sky was unusually blue, with no clouds in sight. The wind was blowing lightly, whizzing through his blonde locks. It actually felt quite nice for an October morning. Naruto smiled lightly to himself, noting that his eighteenth birthday was coming up in a week. It seemed that nothing could go wrong… until he felt it. His body froze for a second; feeling as if someone was hugging him tightly from behind, but there was no one. It was only him walking alone on the sidewalk.

"Naruto…" He heard the voice whisper. It always whispered his name lowly, as if not wanting anyone but him to hear. Naruto shivered involuntarily and tried to keep walking but his body was frozen. He felt a hand run gently through his hair and onto the nape of his neck. A slight breeze of warm air hit his adam's apple and he could swear the life was being drain out of his body.

"Naruto!" he heard a distant voice yell. As if on cue, the slight hold on his body quickly released and Naruto breathed in a mouth full of much needed air.

"Hey, you okay dude?" The voice came again.

Naruto turned around to face a concerned Kiba alongside a worried Hinata. He shook away the chilling feeling and smiled at the pair.

"Yeah I'm good, just lost my train of thought that's all." Naruto lied easily. Kiba gave Hinata a knowing look as she nodded back. They both knew there was always something bothering their friend but decided not to push it. When he was ready to tell them, he would.

"Well if you say so, let's hurry cause the others are already at the park waiting," Kiba answered as he pushed forward. Naruto nodded absent mindedly as he followed closely behind. They made it to the park just in time as the whole gang arrived a few minutes later. Throughout the whole day Naruto couldn't help but feel as if something was watching him the whole time. Even when with his friends he still felt unease at the constant nerve wrecking feelings. The day was meant to be exciting and fun but due to his paranoia, it turned into a day of frequent looks over the shoulder and restless jumps at the slightest touch instead. Kiba continued asking him if everything was alright but he would just shrug it off on reply with a nod.

Naruto walked home that day feeling more tired than usual as he bid his friends farewell near the bus stop. As he neared the house he saw the kitchen light on and stalked towards the drive way. Iruka's black Honda was parked outside, noting that he was home and probably cooking dinner. Naruto sluggishly pulled out his ring of keys and searched for the house keys to open the door. As he fumbled slightly with the batch of key he felt a slight change in the wind pattern, but dismissing it, he plunged the key into the door knob and twist. It opened easily as he pushed his way in murmuring a small "I'm home".

Taking off his shoes he saw Iruka pop his head around the corner. Naruto smiled warmly at his father and walked towards the direction of the kitchen.

"Welcome home Naruto," Iruka said with a smile as he walked towards the fridge. He opened the door and grabbed a plate of food out onto the table. "Want something to eat? Kakashi helped me make it earlier, it's actually quite good."

Naruto nodded leisurely as he took a seat on a bar stool behind the island table. He gently folded his arms on top of the counter and laid his head unto them, watching Iruka hum a soothing tune whilst heating up the meal. He felt so tired and drained as he watched Iruka pace back and forth.

"You okay Naru?" Iruka asked concerned as he took the plate out of the microwave and set it in front of Naruto.

"Yeah I'm fine Iruka, but you know, on second thought, I think I'm just gonna head off to bed…sorry." Naruto replied pushing himself off the red seat. Iruka watched with a frown marring his expressions as Naruto ascended up the stairs to his room. He heard the door shut and simply stood there, trying to understand what was wrong with Naruto. Something clicked in his head and he quickly ran over to grab his cell phone. Iruka rapidly punched in a few commands and called the only person who could handle this situation.

"Hello?"

"Kakashi, I think it's happening," Iruka said rather swiftly, fingers tapping against the marble counter tops. "I can tell he's losing more and more energy each day and it's not even his eighteenth birthday yet! What are we supposed to do?"

"Iruka, hey…calm down, maybe your just over reacting," Kakashi reasoned but he knew what was happening. It had to be him; there was no other person who could still be following Naruto around after all these years.

"No I'm not, Kushina warned me but… I'm not sure, if I can protect Naruto anymore," Iruka all but cried unto the other line.

…...

Naruto felt horrible about refusing dinner. Usually he was always hungry but as of lately, his hunger just hadn't been as nagging as usual. He walked over toward the bed and plopped down, face first, into the throng of pillows and blankets. He didn't want to worry Iruka. The man had done so much for him after his mother passed away and it didn't seem fair that Naruto couldn't repay him back in any way possible.

He sighed loudly into his pillow and closed his eyes. Maybe sleep would help him for the new day. Just when Naruto was about to drift off he felt a sudden pressure on his back. It was the same exact sensation he had been feeling for the past seventeen, almost eighteen years and he still wasn't used to it.

He tried moving but again, it was pointless. His body never seemed to respond to him during these times and all he could do was wait it out. Then it began, the gentle caresses he would feel at his sides and the slightest pressure near his neck. It was the same routine and somehow, Naruto couldn't deny that it was addicting to a certain extent.

"Naruto…"

He gasped at the sound of his name. The voice was so near that it was practically whispered into his ear. The blonde felt a new sense of strength and he began to lift his weight up slightly from the bed. In an instant the pressure that he had been feeling vanished but there was still something lingering in the atmosphere. Naruto heaved in much needed air and sat up as best as he could on the bed.

"Who are you!" Naruto shouted out, totally forgetting Iruka downstairs. This was the first time in seventeen years he had felt enough courage to answer back. Usually he was always out in public when his name was spoken but this time, he would find out what this thing wanted. "Show yourself you coward!"

Unexpectedly, Naruto was pushed back onto his bed, both hand held captive in the capturer's grasp as another hand was slapped over his mouth. Naruto struggled to comprehend all that had happened when he was met with endless pools of black. His cerulean eyes widen comically at the thing in front of him and the sinister eyes it possessed. The creature's midnight locks swayed perfectly over his defined jaw bone. Its pale creamy skin was flawless and unmarked with any blemishes. The obviously male creature would have been a perfect Adonis save for a pair of giant black wings protruding from his back. The wings looked even darker due to the pale skin contrasting with it. The creature must have seen the look of shock in Naruto eye's as its expression easily morphed into a knowing smirk.

"Naruto," He all but purred out, removing his hand from Naruto's mouth. The hand traveled down the blonde's whiskered cheeks and stroked his baby soft skin. Naruto shivered at the longing touch but was in too much of a shock to scream. He just continued to stare at the figure above him, his heart beating erratically within his chest.

The figure's smirk never faded and he couldn't help but continue with his actions of caressing Naruto's skin when the boy wasn't fighting back. He pressed himself fully against the blonde's body. It was such an addicting feeling, the heat and power radiating off of Naruto.

"I've waited so long for you, Naruto…You don't know how bad I've wanted you…" He said with such hidden lust, thrusting slightly against the entrapped boy.

Naruto couldn't move away to protest, it was as if his mind wasn't working and a spell was somehow cast over his body. All he could do was lie there and endure the creature's shallow thrusting of their lower regions. Whether he liked it or not, the friction was creating a pleasant feeling to his hardening member and the creature was far more than happy to continue pleasuring the blonde. Dark hair tickled his face as warm air was blown unto his ear.

"Who am I you ask? I am the one who has always been there for you, I am your shadow, and I am your incubus, my name is Sasuke Uchiha," He whispered into the boy's sensitive ear. It was as if time had ceased to exist as the name sunk into Naruto's muddled mind. As soon as those words left the creature's mouth though, the door suddenly burst opened with a worried Iruka and a silver haired Kakashi in tow. Naruto's body finally jerked back into control but it was useless as there was no trace of Sasuke anywhere. He seemed to have just vanished into thin air.

"Naruto, what happened?" Iruka yelled as he made his way over towards the blonde.

Kakashi followed after as he took in the dazed expression on Naruto's face. Iruka fell to Naruto's bed side, knees pressed against the wooden under drawers as he gently placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Naruto?"

He looked into the boy's eyes but his expression was still unreadable and dazed. Naruto was staring at the empty space above him, eyes glazed over with shock. Kakashi bent down to Iruka's level and softly removed his hands from Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto's just stunned Iruka, give him a couple more minutes and he'll snap back into reality," the silver haired man assured the other. Iruka nodded but his eyes refused to leave Naruto's form. He had never felt more useless to Naruto at that moment and all he could do was continue to wait. Kakashi stood up and shook his head and was just about to head for the door when he heard Naruto mumble out a name.

He froze on the spot, eyes widened at the all too familiar name. He heard Iruka gasp as he turned to see the surprised expression on the brunette's face.

"I can't believe it," Iruka murmured, a sense of dread coursing through his veins. He felt even more powerless as he turned his body and slumped against the side of the bed. "He's back Kakashi…Sasuke's came back."

...

A/N: There are probably a lot of questions going on right now in your head but a lot will be explained in the next chapter so stay tune! Please review and feel free to leave any suggestions.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: That was definitely a quick update! I'm so glad for the positive feedback for this story. I admit it's been a while since I've posted on ffnet , I forgot just how addicting it was to get a review! Let me tell you, it's an addicting feeling so please review haha**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter 2**

**The Explanation**

…...

Iruka sat by Naruto's bedside simply watching the blonde slumber peacefully. The rise and fall of his chest was a bit calming to see as he ran his fingers through Naruto's soft blonde tresses. He sighed again for the umpteenth time that night, hearing some dishes clatter downstairs, he remembered that Kakashi had gone to make them some tea. After Naruto had said Sasuke's name, the boy suddenly blacked out and had been sleeping ever since. It hadn't been a while, maybe an hour or so, but Iruka kept watch, hoping Sasuke wouldn't come back to plague Naruto in his dreams as well.

Truth be told it hadn't been a peaceful seventeen years but Iruka was content with it. He was content with having Naruto as his son and being able to see that smiling face every morning. It almost brought tears to his eyes thinking about those loving memories when he heard small footsteps creeping up the stairs. Iruka composed himself quickly, wiping at any extra moisture near his eyes as Kakashi opened the door.

"Ma, Iruka…I think your cups have a mind of their own. I was simply trying to get us some tea when one of them just jumped out of my hand and onto the ground." Kakashi explained whilst handing the brunette a steaming cup of tea. Iruka thanked him, not even having enough energy to come back his bizarre theory. Kakashi noticed this distant behavior and set his own cup of tea down on Naruto's nightstand.

"Hey, cheer up now Iruka, Naruto's going to be okay," Kakashi assured as he took a seat next to Iruka, bed dipping slightly due to the added weight.

Iruka nodded as he continued to caress Naruto's hair, smiling at how unruly it was. He had always got onto the boy about fixing his hair every morning and it was to no surprise that Naruto never listened.

Kakashi again noticed that his efforts of reassurance weren't getting him anywhere. He too sighed for the umpteenth time that night and got up to get his cup of tea. He stood, back against the wall, as he took in the sight of the mother hen, guarding his child. Iruka always had a kind heart, which led him into his current position of a kindergarten teacher at their local elementary school. Kakashi was always drawn to the sweet aura that Iruka gave off but knew that now wouldn't be the best time to ravish him and so, he continued to sip on his tea.

Unexpectedly, Naruto began to stir awake and Iruka gasped as he held onto the boy's hand. Naruto slowly opened his eyes to adjust to the bright lighting in his room. Were his lights always that bright?

"Hey…" he heard Iruka whisper lovingly, fingers tightening on his already suffocating hand. "…you okay?"

"Iruka, I don't think the pained expression is coming from recent events but you might want to let go of his hand. I'm about three feet away and I can tell that it's already turning blue," Kakashi stated innocently from the sidelines.

Iruka glared at the man and released his hold on Naruto's hand, agreeing nonetheless that his grasp had been a little bit too tight.

Naruto chuckled lightly and sent Kakashi a thanking glance as took in the Iruka's murderous glare. He sat up slowly on his bed and looked around. Everything seemed normal again, even after what had just happened not too long ago, everything was ordinary. Iruka took his eyes away from the silver haired man when he heard Naruto's light chuckling. It brought a smile to his face at hearing that sound. He relished in the feeling for a little bit longer before he had to explain to the boy what should have been explained a long time ago.

Naruto stopped chuckling at the change of expression on Iruka's face. It turned from a glare, to a smile, to seriousness on a whole other level. He knew Kakashi sensed it as well, seeing as he strode towards the door and let himself out.

The door closed with an audible click and then Iruka began.

"Naruto," Iruka stated. "Do you believe in the unbelievable?"

He quirked his brow at the odd statement, and replied, "If it's the unbelievable, why should I believe in it?"

Iruka hesitantly smiled and answered, "Because Naruto, _you_ are a part of that unbelievable."

Now Naruto was really confused. The look clearly shown on his face as Iruka took in his hand again, holding it more gently this time and explained.

"Your mother was a beautiful woman, Naruto, and a gifted one too. She was born from a powerful priestess and inherited your grandmother's power. She captured the hearts of many but also the wrong kind of attention as well. She had the same problem that you did, the weird feelings of being stalked and the heavy presences of being touched."

Naruto nodded slightly, listening intently to Iruka's words. He had never asked about his mother or father because he didn't want Iruka to feel dejected by his questionings. He loved Iruka as if he were his own father, and didn't want to be unappreciative by asking questions about his biological parents. His interest about them however, was endless, and he was glad to finally satisfy some of his curiosity with this conversation.

"So maybe I developed this from her then?" Naruto asked.

Iruka shook his head and continued, "No, Naruto. That feeling stayed with her for a long time too until she turned twenty five. It was on that night that your father revealed himself to her… he was an incubus."

Naruto froze at those words, his body stilling completely. He wasn't expecting this kind of information. It didn't make any sense. If his father was an incubus, then what did that make him? He looked to Iruka for the answers and found one he didn't want.

"I know this is hard to understand Naruto but you have to believe me, you are a cambion, the offspring of an incubus and a human. Your mother fell in love unexpectedly with your father. It was difficult but she trusted him. He was different from other incubus and he fell in love with her in return."

Naruto couldn't hear anything anymore. He stopped comprehending when he heard the words labeling him as a cambion. His mother falling in love with an incubus was strange enough but him being the result of that relationship was bit more farfetched. What was he supposed to think?

"Your father didn't want to leave her but he had to return to his own world. What he didn't know was that your mother had gotten pregnant. She knew the pregnancy would be difficult and so she left everyone behind and moved. I recall your mother telling me about how you were still born and she thought you were dead. It wasn't until seven months later did you begun to show signs of life. Kushina explained that those seven months were a horrible time because she didn't know what to do, but everything worked out in the end. You began growing at a startling pace and in the next five months, you became a beautiful blonde haired boy."

Naruto couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Iruka's mouth. Everything that was piling up was too implausible. First there was a creature on top of him, lusting after him, and now his father was an incubus and he was a cambion? What was the world coming too?

"Naruto…"

Naruto didn't reply to Iruka's concern voice, nor did he register the hand soothing out his back in an attempt to calm his beating heart.

"Naruto, I wouldn't lie to you, all that I have said so far is true. You've got to believe me." Iruka begged out. He understood this was a lot of information to process but he just wanted some sort of response from the still boy.

Naruto turned to look into his guardian's dark eyes. He knew that Iruka would never lie to him; he just couldn't wrap his mind around all this new information. It was just too much.

"Iruka…" Naruto started. Iruka's sole attention was on the blonde haired boy and the words his mouth was forming.

"Let's just say…that I am….a cambion, why would Sasuke want me?" Naruto asked, trying to go along with this ridiculous story.

"It's because of your aura Naruto."

Both heads snapped to the door as Kakashi entered inside. He never went downstairs at all and was ease dropping the whole time. Naruto stared confused as Kakashi made his way towards the empty spot at Iruka's side.

"He's drawn to the complex aura that you have Naruto." Kakashi restated again, squatting down to the blonde's level. "You see, since you are a half breed Naruto, you are both human and incubus at the same time. Your powers inter mingle with each other, allowing you to go on each day without having to feed. Regular incubus, on the other hand, have to constantly feed for energy. Until they can find someone who can provide them with a constant energy source, they have to feed off on who ever."

Naruto nodded at the explanation. It made sense. Even though the whole situation was still in the air, this was a less than logical explanation to the strange presence that had been following him his whole life.

"If what you say is true than, why can't…Sasuke just find someone else?" Naruto questioned.

Kakashi was about to explain when Iruka cut him off. This was his story to tell and he didn't want the information coming from anyone that wasn't him.

"Naruto, when you turned eight, your powers began to become apparent to the demon world. Not all incubus knew, but some could sense that peculiar aura surrounding you and one of those demons was Sasuke. He's drawn to you because you have a strong enough aura to keep him replenished and you yourself are resilient enough to survive. Most people who mate with incubus don't live very long, unless they can withstand the depletion of energy every day. "

Naruto nodded again. That was the only thing he could do. He understood but at the same time he didn't want to understand. If he gave in, it would mean believing in the unbelievable. It felt just like old times again when he was little and Iruka would read him a fairy tale story. Only this time, he was a part of the imagination, and it wasn't so magical.

"Your story continues though, Naruto, and it took a turn for the worst. It was on a dark night that you were having your nightmares again and your mother knew it was from a wandering incubus. She found one in your room that night and before she could do anything, it attacked her unexpectedly. Her injuries were too much to recover from but before she died, she made a sacrificial seal to ward off all demons from you."

"Unfortunately though," Kakashi cut in, "That seal disappears when you turn eighteen and it is, as of we speak, slowly weakening."

Iruka punched Kakashi in the arm, glaring lightly at the silver haired man.

"What he means is for you not to worry. We will find a way to strengthen the seal again, I promise you Naruto." Iruka assured, eyes averting back to his son.

There was a long pregnant silence between the three. Only the steady breathing was heard from all bodies before Naruto finally spoke up.

"Can you just let me sleep on this Iruka…I need time to absorb it all in." Naruto slowly drawled out his words.

Iruka was speechless with Naruto's reaction but understood nonetheless. He slowly stood and dragged Kakashi after him towards the door.

"Sleep tight then okay, if you need anything at all, I'm just down the hall," Iruka said. Kakashi slipped out and soon Iruka followed after shutting the door behind them.

The door clicked and Naruto let out a long sigh he didn't know he had been holding in. This was too much information to take in, everything was so confusing and to top it off, it all made sense in a bizarre way.

He simply let his body fall back until his head collided with the soft pillow. This had really been a long day and all he wanted to do now was sleep, maybe in the morning everything would have been just a dream.

…...

Sasuke watched from outside the blonde's window at his sleeping form. The incubus wanted nothing more than to sweep into the room and caress the boy's body until he was a moaning mess under the Uchiha's hold. There was the problem though, of that stupid seal put into place ten years ago. When the Uchiha had heard about the stupid incubus who had dared to try and touch his Naruto, he ripped him to shreds immediately. That was after the attack though, and Sasuke was far too late. The seal had been set by the boy's mother and for the years to come, he could only do so much to Naruto. The seal was too strong and it took almost all his energy to bypass the seal for a mere second to touch the boy. If he could have, he would have brought that low life incubus back to life just to rip him to shreds again. Because of its mistakes, he was forced to feed off of random strangers just so he could be near Naruto. But as of lately, the seal had been weakening. He heard Naruto's guardian speaking about it as well, on the boy's eighteenth birthday, the seal was to disappear.

Sasuke smirked at the thought of finally getting to connect with that radiating body of power. It had been ten years, but through those ten years, the desire he craved for the blonde had never stopped but grown immensely. It was fascinating to watch his mate grow into the angelic figure he was now. The rumors were true; cambions were so much more beautiful than humans or succubus. It was only a matter of time before he could finally claim Naruto as his.

…...

**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as well. I'm sorry if things are still confusing but more will be revealed as we go on. Please don't forget to review and lead some feedback. No flames please, constructive criticisms are always accepted however :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I just want to say thank you so much for everyone who reviewed and thank you to all the silent readers as well :) You may not know it but your reviews mean so much to me and truly motivate me to continue updating so fast! I know some times I get too lazy to review when I read other stories but even a small "Update Soon" is well appreciated. I do however; want to give a small shout out to the reviewer Final Syai Lunar Generation. Your review was so cute and funny, it definitely gave me a chuckle. On towards the story though!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter 3**

**The Day**

...

It had been a couple of days since the encounter with Sasuke and the whole situation with Iruka. It was just another ordinary day though, other than the fact that at twelve o'clock midnight, Naruto would be turning eighteen.

It was still early in the afternoon when he stopped by Kiba's house to see if the dog lover was home. Unfortunately though, Kiba hadn't returned home from school yet, according to his older sister. Naruto thanked her for the heads up and strode out of the drive way.

He really wanted to talk to his best friend about all the fuss that had been going on. Well, he just wanted to talk to somebody in general. Over the course of the past few days, he had never gotten time alone with his friend to truly discuss anything that didn't involve four legs and a tail. Naruto sighed and kicked at an imaginary pebble on the side of the pavement. The days were so boring when he didn't have to go to school. Luckily for the blonde, he somehow managed to finish all his requirements for high school early and was just waiting for the next semester for his final English class and graduation. They didn't offer his English class the fall semester and so he decided to just wait until the spring. If he had known that his days would be so unadventurous, he might have taken a few extra class loads to pass the days.

Naruto continued to walk down the streets with no real destination in mind when he caught wind of a lavender hair color. He recognized it to be Hinata's and hurried towards her destination. She was walking at such a fast pace that Naruto had a hard time trying to keep up with her. They both passed the regular food stand that was located conveniently near the park. Naruto noticed Hinata's pace quickening past the playground and he knew for sure she was headed towards the old oak tree that stood in the back. Without her noticing, Naruto cut through the swing sets through the bushes to beat her there first. What he didn't expect though, was to trip unceremoniously into the tall bushes like a two year old. Naruto plopped onto the dirt floor with a thump. He groaned at the slight pain of his elbows for getting scraped but just as he was about to get up, he noticed Hinata's back side from underneath his viewing spot.

It seemed as if she was talking to someone. Naruto was far from nosy but he couldn't help but be curious. He slipped a little more under the bushes to hide his form and lifted his head to gain better view. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks as familiar dark locks edged its way back into his memory. The strong jawbone, porcelain skin, and the dark eyes were all it took for him to recognize that it was Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto was dumbfounded and still for the longest time as he continued to watch Hinata converse with his stalker as if it was normal. He noticed that Sasuke didn't have the wings anymore and decided to dress casually to blend in. He looked quite presentable with his white buttoned up shirt tucked in black dress pants. Naruto gulped at the memory of that body pressed on top of his and couldn't help but shutter at the sinfully pleasurable sensation. He didn't need to be reminded of that night, and as long as he kept eaves dropping, the feeling wasn't going to go away. Naruto breathed in deeply and saw both individuals deeply engrossed into the conversation. He slowly rose to his knees and was about to get up and sneak away when he felt an unknown touch at his ankle.

Naruto chilled at the foreign feeling and turned his head see a black snake sliding over his leg. There was only one thing that unnerved him more than Sasuke and that answer was snakes. Naruto was never really fond of snakes and too honest, he rather not be near them at all. Like anybody else who was scared of snakes, Naruto freaked out and jumped out of the bush as fast as possible with a slight scream. His leg was snake free from the movements but that eerie feeling still lingered on the blonde's leg as he swoop his tan hands to rub it off. Unbeknownst to Naruto though, two set of eyes were trained on his actions the whole time.

The blonde felt an intense stare at his back side whilst he was knelt down. He stilled suddenly, realizing he had made his presence known to the two people he'd been stalking. Naruto turned around slowly seeing only Hinata standing behind him.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Hinata asked, her voice laced with concern. She held out her hand as Naruto took grasp of it and stood, dusting off the extra dirt on his pants. He looked around to see if Sasuke was anywhere in sight but unfortunately, the incubus had disappeared yet again, without a trace.

"If you're looking for Sasuke-kun, he isn't here anymore." Hinata stated out to the wandering Naruto. He stopped his search and looked back to the once shy girl he knew in high school. She took a step towards him and lightly grabbed at his right hand.

"I know you have a lot of questions to ask me from the look on your face so, let's go get something to eat." Hinata explained with a small smile adorning her face. Naruto nodded, stomach rumbling in agreement as she led them both out of the secluded clearing. It wasn't even five minutes later that they both found themselves at the food stand, ordering some teriyaki sticks with some steaming green tea.

Hinata led Naruto to a small remote picnic table and sat down, waiting for Naruto to follow suit. He set his drink on the table and sat across from his longtime friend, noting that the street lamps were beginning to come out.

"So…" Naruto drawled out, taking a quick sip out of his cup. He twirled his teriyaki stick in his other hand, watching Hinata take a small bite of hers. He waited patiently as she took a sip of her drink as well before taking a deep sigh.

Her pale violet eyes then connected with Naruto as she supplied the answers to his curiosity. "Naruto, when you entered into high school, Sasuke put me in charge of watching over you, to make sure nothing bad happened."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion from what he had just heard, not even bothering to finish his food as Hinata continued.

"You see Naruto, I am also like you," She smiled kindly towards the blonde. "I am a cambion, and because of that, I can stay near you without being immensely affected by the seal."

Naruto knew his mouth was undoubtedly hanging open; this was probably the shocker of the day, as he was literally a taken back by the statement. Just like Iruka, he knew that Hinata couldn't be lying, she never lied about anything. On top of that though, how did she know so much information? The most confusing part nevertheless was how she knew Sasuke.

As if reading his mind she answered, "My cousin is very good friends with Sasuke. Whenever I was born, not a lot of people approved of my existence and because of that, numerous assassinations were carried out to kill me."

At this statement, Naruto felt a bubble of anger emerge from deep within. "I can't believe people would even stoop so-"

Just as he was about to finish his statement though, Hinata cut him off with a wave her hand. "No Naruto, there's no need to get mad. That's the view that our kind gets Naruto. It's either good or bad, there's never a line in between."

Naruto nodded, understanding completely what she was saying. He continued to listen, hands finding comfort in holding his semi-warm cup of tea.

"Although many tried to kill me, it was the Uchiha's influence that stopped all the assassination plots altogether. For that, my life is forever indebted to him and my service. That is why when he asked me to enter into the school and look out for you, I agreed without hesitation." Hinata finished, a smile gracing her beautiful features.

Naruto was a bit at awe on how far Sasuke was willing to go for his safety but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to like the guy. One thing did raise a prominent question however, as to why Sasuke had so much power over others.

"Does Sasuke really have that much of a major influence on others?" he stated out his concern.

This time it was Hinata's turn to stare at Naruto with a confused expression. "What do you mean by that Naruto?"

"Well, mean exactly what I asked, how does Sasuke have such a huge influence over others?" Naruto questioned again, looking directly into lavender eyes.

Hinata stared back in misperception until something finally clicked in her mind. She chuckled a bit, realizing what Naruto did not know. "So you mean to tell me that you don't know?"

"What don't I know?" Naruto asked again, getting a bit irritated at all the riddled inquiries. It seemed as if every day brought such vast amounts of knowledge.

"Naruto, Sasuke is the youngest incubus prince of the underworld." Hinata answered with sly smirk on her face. For the second time that night, Naruto was literally thrown back again with the new information. It was unsettling to see Hinata smirk but regardless of that fact, Sasuke was a prince, and the prince of the underworld?

Hinata could only continue to smile with glee as she took in Naruto's shocked reaction. She couldn't believe that Sasuke didn't tell Naruto about that huge factor. Everyone in the demon world would be in such an uproar that their precious prince was in love with a cambion.

…...

**A/N:** Alright, that's it for this chapter! I wanted to drag it out longer but I figured this was a good place to stop because the next chapter is going to be exciting. If I didn't stop it so soon, it would have been ten pages long. Have no fear though, the next chapter should be up fairly soon! Please review! No flames but constructive criticisms are always welcomed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Another fast update right? You guys are such great reviewers and have gotten me so addicted to writing because of your reviews :) Thank you ever so much! I have established to myself though that I will give a shout out to one reviewer per chapter because you all are just so awesome. My shout out this time goes to C0mdLicAt3p! Such lovely reviews in one single day, you have definitely made my night. On towards the story though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. **

**Chapter 4**

**The Following Night **

...

After the initial shock of Sasuke being a prince, Naruto calmed his racing heart a little as Hinata continued to stare at him from across the table. One thing he loved most about Hinata was her tolerance and understanding nature. She patiently waited for him to regain his thoughts again before continuing onward.

"Um, Naruto-kun, are there any more specific questions you would like to ask?"

He nodded with quick enthusiasm. This was the question he had been waiting for the whole night. He had so much curiosity in his mind that it bothered him to no end.

"Yes!" Naruto all but shouted to the girl. "Something I'm really unsure about Hinata, is what were you and Sasuke talking about before, when I found you at the tree?"

Hinata halted from sipping her tea at the abrupt inquiry, not expecting that to even be in the scope of their conversation. She couldn't tell him the truth but she couldn't lie to him as well. Hinata stalled with the answer as it was Naruto's turn to stare at her intensely. She sighed and finally replied, "My apologies Naruto-kun, but that is a question that I cannot answer."

Naruto frowned at the response but he pushed it no further. If she didn't want to tell him then it wasn't something he should try to dig out. He figured that the question would just have to be left unsatisfied without an answer. The night continued on as he persisted on to ask more questions. He felt as if he annoyed her more and more by the minute as his questions poured like rain.

It wasn't for a while later that Naruto bid farewell to Hinata as they both parted in opposite directions; Naruto heading left as Hinata went right. He walked silently down the empty sidewalk, street lamps lit up brightly a few feet between the next. He didn't realize how long they both had conversed until Hinata pointed out that it was almost ten and she needed to get home. It surprised Naruto immensely on how Sasuke was always watching him from what he learned from his friend. The dark prince had been right when he stated the claim of always being there for Naruto but still, that didn't make him any less of a stalker. It just made everything else the more confusing. He quickly checked his phone for the time, seeing that he had been walking for a good ten minutes. He heaved a heavy sigh at yet another stressful day and new information to take in. He thought back to what Hinata had explained about the seal. The seal was very intricately designed to ward off any demons. The way it worked was when a demon came to close within the proximity of the seal barrier; it acts instantly and sends an electrical current throughout the demons body. She described it to being struck by lightning but the shocks were simply amplified because incubus had a much higher pain tolerance than humans. Naruto shivered at the thought of being struck by that kind of pain. To a certain extent he felt a bit of unease knowing that Sasuke was getting shocked whenever he got so near but there was nothing that could be done about that fact. Nonetheless, he finally saw the familiar image of his house coming into view and sped up a little to get inside. There was an unfamiliar car parked next to Iruka's as he neared the doorsteps and knocked loudly at the door. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to carry his keys with him today, not knowing that the day's events would turn out so drastically bizarre. Lazily, he balled his right hand into a fist and knocked on the door again wondering if anyone was home. It wasn't even a minute later that he heard someone rushing to the door and unlocking it open.

"Naruto! Where have you been?" Iruka cried out, a worried expression marring his features.

"Sorry dad, I was with Hinata and just forgot to call," Naruto replied. He thought it best to not mention anything about Hinata being a cambion or the long conversation that they had partaken in. With the way Iruka was, he would probably forbid Naruto from seeing her anymore even though she was as harmless as a butterfly. Iruka ushered Naruto into the house as he mumbled something incoherent and pushed the boy towards the living room.

"Naruto, I'd like you to meet someone." Iruka said whilst still steering Naruto towards his destination.

"You're not going to tell me that I'm to be engaged too now?" Naruto chuckled out as his guardian smacked him on the head. Naruto groaned at the slight pain and walked into the room with Iruka following behind. It was merely a joke to lighten the mood but no, he had to get hit. He mumbled at a small curse and finally took in the scene that was presented before him.

In one seat sat the regular Kakashi reading his orange porn novel but one thing he didn't recognize was a busty woman adjacent from the silver haired man. Iruka cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the two as both pairs of eyes landed on Naruto.

"Finally the brat is home," the busty woman complained as she stood to stretch her leg muscles. "Thought I'd be waiting the whole night for this little twerp."

Naruto's eyes narrowed instantly, already not liking the well-endowed blonde hair feline standing in the room. "Hey granny, who gave you the right to insult me in my own home? I'm no brat!"

At the sound of Naruto's blaring voice Iruka instantly slapped a hand over his outrageous mouth. "He doesn't mean any of that Lady Tsunade; we are honored to have you here."

Naruto huffed at this and looked to Iruka as he glared harshly back at the boy. With his hands still over Naruto's mouth, Iruka shot him that look. Naruto knew that look all too well and sighed, knowing he had lost the battle. Caramel hands slowly slid off the boys lips as he led a dejected Naruto to the couch. Tsunade dismissed the outburst and came closer to inspect Naruto. He felt like an unknown species as the lady practically circled around him like a vulture trying to digest its dead meat.

"Would you stop that?" Naruto retorted back irritably, folding both arms over his chest. A hand flew out of nowhere and smacked the back of his head forward. Tan hands shot to rub the sore spot as he scowled at Iruka for hitting him again.

"Noisy brat," Tsunade stated loudly, grabbing the cup on their center table and drinking it. Naruto scrunched his nose at the smell and realized that it was sake. She saw his expression and smirked, taking another sip out of the cup. "Hey, you know you look nothing like your mother at all?"

Naruto stopped his glaring and looked to Tsunade like she had grown two heads. She moved to the opposite side of the room and plopped down onto the couch. "Long story short, I was practically her mother, always watching out for her."

Naruto waited for more but seeing as Tsunade uncaringly preceded to drink her sake, he didn't think this story would go into details soon. They all sat for the longest time until Kakashi finally set his book down and coughed loudly. Tsunade jerked a little, as if snapping back into reality and focused on the others.

"Sorry, lost my train of thought." She apologized dryly. There was a flash of pain that flew across her face as she turned directly towards Naruto. "Now, I need you to listen to me."

The atmosphere turned drastically intense as everyone's eyes were focused solely on the blonde hair boy. Naruto gulped lightly and nodded.

"The incubus that we are dealing with is no regular incubus. Although he has to feed off of others for energy, his powers are strong enough without them. If Sasuke gets ahold of you Naruto, I want you to try your best to fight back and not respond. You have such a strong aura that it wouldn't even take much to replenish Sasuke. You're just a power source to him and that is all he wants from you. If he can get your power, there is no telling what he could do."

Naruto listened intently to Tsunade's words. He was completely torn between her view of Sasuke and Hinata's view. They were both so radically different that he didn't know who to believe. Naruto watched as Tsunade pulled out a gem necklace from her green robe's pocket. It was a beautiful blue gemstone that hung in the middle of the black string necklace.

"This is a special necklace that I made a long time ago specifically designed to ward off demons. I know the seal your mother put onto you is strong but that seal will completely disappear past midnight tonight. Because of that though, I want you to wear this necklace at all times and don't take it off."

She stood and crossed the room in a quick motion to put the necklace onto Naruto. She eased it over his head and pulled the gem forward as well as the blonde.

"Do you hear me Naruto; I repeat that you are to not take this necklace off. Nothing can hurt you if you wear this but, when it's off, the barrier will not work." Tsunade repeated like a mantra.

"Yes, yes. I know, don't take it off." Naruto answered, pulling away from the woman, her boobs being way to close for his liking.

She pulled back from the boy and ruffled his hair like a child. Naruto swatted her hand away but missed as she had already drawn it back. Such weird mood swings this lady possessed, Naruto thought. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but feel a bit strange being the receiver of that smile.

"You remind me so much of her," was all Tsunade mumbled out as she turned to Iruka. "Make sure he doesn't take the necklace off, I need to get going now so we'll have to talk about that other thing some other time."

Iruka stood and bowed respectfully to Tsunade and walked her towards the door, whispering quietly to her the whole time. Naruto sighed and also stood. He looked to Kakashi who wasn't paying any attention at all but yet still reading his novel. Naruto scoffed at the sight and walked off towards his room.

"If yal' need me, I'll be in the shower!" Naruto shouted loud enough for Iruka to hear as well. He turned the corner and stalked up stairs for a well-deserved body cleansing.

….

It wasn't until about thirty minutes later that Naruto slid the door to the shower open, letting all the entrapped steam blow out. He always felt so refreshed after taking a long shower. He gently soothed a soft towel over his tan body, making sure not to miss any extra droplets of water as he walked towards the door. Tying the towel loosely to his waist, he stepped out of the bathroom, into his connecting room. One of the benefits of being an only child was the advantage of getting a bathroom too. Iruka's room had the same exact layout with an adjoining bathroom as well. They both figured it would be more convenient for each to have their own, and in Naruto's opinion, that was probably the thing he loved most about the house. He moseyed leisurely over to his drawers and pulled out a pair of black silk boxers. The fluffy towel dropped to the floor as Naruto slipped into the comfortable cloth, more than ready to go to bed. It was a nice night as the stars were shining perfectly outside. The wind was breezing lightly through his opened window and he felt completely relaxed before plopping down onto his bed. He snuggled into his feather soft pillow and noticed the clock's red digits signifying what time it was.

"One more minute until my birthday," Naruto noted to himself as he closed his eyes. He hummed silently to himself recapturing all the events that had just gone by in the past two hours. Meeting the crazy hag was one thing he could live without but he had to admit that he was well in her debt. Suddenly, Naruto forgot that he had left his barrier necklace in his bathroom while he was changing. It was probably on his towel hanger near the sink. He couldn't believe that after all the ear full lecture of not taking the necklace off no matter what, he still managed to forget. Slowly, Naruto sat up and stretched a little and moved to get off the bed. As his feet touched the lush carpet floors, he stood heading towards the bathroom door.

Unexpectedly, the bathroom door swung shut, as did the windows along with his bedroom door. He heard an audible click everywhere as he realized he was being locked in. Naruto panicked slightly unsure of what exactly was happening. He ran to the bathroom door and tried to open it but to no avail, it didn't even budge. Without warning, Naruto was turned and his back slammed against the door with a loud thud. He groaned at the hard impact and the throbbing pain at the back of his head. His mind felt so muffled, he couldn't even register what was going on at all. Regretfully, he opened azure eyes and was yet again met with midnight black ones. His body immediately immobilized at the pure sinister smirk on Sasuke's face. Both his hands were tightly being held captive by just one of the demon's hand. A shiver racked through his body unconsciously as he frantically looked around for an escape route. He thought back to what Hinata had said before about the effects of the seal and knew Sasuke should be disappearing in just a few more minutes. He just had to wait it out and be strong. It wasn't until Naruto lost all hope, as his eyes caught sight of the blaring red numbers of his digital clock reading 12:01 a.m. Instinctively, his eyes reverted back to the demon prince, and he knew it was over as Sasuke's free hand gently grazed over his exposed abdomen.

"Happy Birthday….Naruto."

…

**A/N: I hope this chapter came across the way I wanted it too, and I do hope that you guys enjoyed it! Please Review! No flames but constructive criticisms are always welcomed :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I just want to thank everyone again for all the reviews! I'm so happy at the positive feedback :) There were so many routes I could have taken from this chapter, it was so hard to decide but in the end, I think I made the right choice. The shout out this time goes to Imarriedmalfoy, your review had me laughing so hard cause I do the same exact thing too when I review for other stories. On towards the story though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

**Warnings: Short Chapter! A little lime but no lemons yet. Beware! Author hasn't written smut in a while!**

**Chapter 5**

**The Meeting at Last**

...

An involuntary shiver ran up Naruto's spine and it made him quiver in an utmost unpleasant way. Sasuke smirked at seeing his lover's discomfort and was completely entranced with the submissive display. His hands continued to skim Naruto's bare chest and he couldn't help the unrestrained feeling of lust that was beginning to cloud his vision.

"You can't even begin to imagine how many times I've pictured this meeting." Sasuke all but purred out into Naruto's ears. With his mouth being so close to the boy, Sasuke gave in and nipped at it teasingly. "I'm still trying to decide if I want to take you right here, or wait until I bring you back with me."

None of those words registered in Naruto's mind as he shifted his head to the side to try and get away from the sex driven demon. If he didn't fight back or do anything, he would be screwed, literally. He thrashed his hands trying to free himself from Sasuke's hold but the demon was undoubtedly strong. Naruto wasn't going to give in though, and decided to use his legs to kick his way free. The plan quickly backfired as Sasuke pressed himself full up against the blonde, stopping any kind of movement all together. Both of Naruto's legs were completely pinned and pressed back towards the wall. He tried thrusting them free but overlooking the miscalculations, ended up rubbing his pelvis up against Sasuke's obvious boner instead.

Naruto gasped sharply at the direct contact as he heard Sasuke groan quietly as well. Impulsively, he raised his head upwards at hearing the sound and coincidently pressed his lips up against Sasuke's. He felt the receiver's mouth thin out into a smirk before enthusiastically responding back with force. Both lips meshed together in a battle as Naruto tried to free himself from the addicting feeling. With great will power he jerked his lips away and snapped his head to the side, taking refuge in his shoulder. Sasuke growled at Naruto's stubbornness but didn't let it faze him as he was now open to assault the blonde's exposed neck.

The demon leisurely stuck out his tongue and licked a scorching path from Naruto's collarbone up towards his ear. He felt the boy almost buckle beneath him and blew cold air onto the sensitive skin. Sasuke would break the boy's resolve even if he had to play dirty. In a flash, he let go of both of Naruto's captive hands and picked him up bridal style. The blonde was slow to realize that his hands were free but before he could react to it, Sasuke quickly threw him onto the bed.

"When did he even move?" Naruto thought as his back collided with the pleasant throngs of pillows and blankets. It was as if Sasuke had super demonic speed or something because he didn't even give Naruto a chance to get up. The blonde's body was again forced back down, both of their bodies connecting perfectly. Naruto couldn't help but moan loudly at the rough contact that Sasuke was eliciting from his already aroused state.

The demon couldn't be happier at hearing the lewd noise. Sasuke didn't even have Naruto in his hold anymore and still just the power of desire had the boy squirming relentlessly beneath him. His body rippled with power as he began to feel the full effects being intimate with a cambion. Before, the aura in which Naruto gave off was neutralized by the seal, preventing any demon to benefit from the power. However, as the seal had been released, Sasuke became a bit hazy at the continuous flow of energy emitted from the other's body. He felt completely replenished and his senses heightened drastically whilst remaining on top of Naruto.

He couldn't help but be satisfied at finding such a great mate and was intent on showing Naruto just how pleased he was. Play time was definitely over and now it was time to begin. He bent down and kissed the blonde forcefully on the lips. This time though, instead of fighting back, it seemed that Naruto began to reply with pleasure. Sasuke smirked at the turn of events and licked at the other's bottom lip for an opening. It was quickly granted as he plunged his way into the hot orifice of Naruto's mouth. Teeth and tongue clashed hotly with each other as Sasuke rubbed his pale hands all over the terrain of Naruto's chest. One hand stilled at a pert nipple as the other slid behind his back down towards two round globes. The demon deepened the kiss and proceeded to pinch the hardening nub in his right hand. The other was well occupied with squeezing and lifting up Naruto's behind to rub against Sasuke's hardened member.

The blonde whimpered into the kiss as he broke free for air. His body was throbbing with need as he turned his head away from the smoldering look the Uchiha was giving him. The demon continued to indulge his body with pleasure and all he could do was pant from the onslaught of touches. His body was burning up to a new degree as Sasuke's clothed body throbbed against his. He didn't even register that Sasuke had taken his hands off his nipple when the hand moved towards a much lower region.

Naruto gasped loudly as the hand rubbed his silk boxers against his leaking member. The texture of the fabric created a tantalizing sensation to his penis and he couldn't help but thrust enthusiastically back. Seeing the reaction he wanted, he continuously massaged the wet spot, loving the expressions that Naruto was making.

"It's ironic that at first you were so opposed to this and now look at you Naruto," Sasuke said with a hard squeeze to the boy's dick. "You want it so bad don't you?"

Naruto turned his head towards the other's voice and connected his orbs with Sasuke's. He looked deep into those dark pools of blackness and smiled. The demon was taken aback by the sheer beauty and Naruto took this chance to flip them over. Now Sasuke was on the bottom as the blonde sat directly on top of the demon's manhood. He quickly slid back a little and aligned his mouth with the bulging tent. In an instinct, Naruto teasingly licked the clad penis and slid two tan arms down the Uchiha's thighs. Sasuke was at a loss of words at this new side of Naruto that he had never expected to see so soon. It was his turn to moan shamelessly as Naruto sucked his leaking dick through the rough fabric of his pants. Sasuke cursed his pants to hell but couldn't even begin to form a coherent thought as Naruto tormented his thighs with gentle caresses.

The demon was soaring with pleasure as his body continued to be satisfied by the blonde's sinful licks and nips. All of a sudden, the movements stopped and Sasuke frowned with dissatisfaction. He didn't even realize when he had closed his eyes to the endearing desire but when he opened them to see what was wrong, he regretted what he saw. Naruto's blue eyes gleamed with mischief as he leisurely crawled up Sasuke's body like a sly fox. The demon's erection pulsed at the libidinous display as Naruto moved passed his torso to his awaiting lips.

"Sasuke," Naruto hummed out pleasantly against the other's ear. The Uchiha nearly died at hearing his name pour out of those pure lips. He hadn't been able to get any words out of the blonde since the whole thing started and with the mutter of his name, Sasuke almost came in his pants.

"Close your eyes for me Sasuke…" Naruto whispered closely yet again.

Sasuke was more than happy to comply and gradually his eye lids sealed shut. He felt Naruto shift upwards and lightly rocked against his restrained penis. He needed Naruto so bad. He was positive that his cock was already red and dripping with precum. A few seconds past as he sensed Naruto's body move in closer. His lips formed into a smirk. This was it. Sasuke couldn't help but think of the most perverted thing possible when a fist unexpectedly collided with his face. Sasuke's head snapped to the side as he felt Naruto jump off of him and run towards the bathroom door. The blonde was unmistakably a sly creature.

Naruto opened the bathroom door easily as he knew that the hold on the door would be loosened if he could just distract Sasuke long enough. Quickly, he ran towards the towel hanger and tried to grab his necklace. What he didn't expect was the necklace to not be there. Naruto panicked slightly and swiftly rummaged through his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. There was nothing. He inwardly cringed at his luck and knew Sasuke would recover from that blow any minute now. He slid his back along the wall and dropped down to a sitting position. His life was officially over. He sat for the longest time, waiting for Sasuke to come get him but surprisingly, the demon never came. Naruto braved his heart and stood, taking in the too quiet scenery to be a good sign. He casually walked towards the opened door and peaked into his bedroom.

Naruto gulped at the sight of Sasuke sitting with his back against the head board as if it was the most normal thing in the world. His pale hand was tenderly stroking a bruised cheek as his eyes glued instantly to Naruto's.

"Dobe," the demon groaned out in annoyance. To say that Naruto was astounded was an understatement. He was flabbergasted at the calm expression on Sasuke's face and hesitantly stepped out of the bathroom towards his predator. Sasuke smirked at Naruto's boldness and slipped a hand into his left pocket. The blonde suppressed the urge to just fall down and cry as he looked at the item that Sasuke was dangling in front of him.

"Looking for this?"

...

**A/N: Hooray for another update! I'm not exactly sure when I'm gonna update again after this because the next couple of weeks will be a bit hectic but I will surely update though! Again, thank you guys so much for reading and review please! No flames but constructive criticisms are always welcomed :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry for the late update, and the fact that this chapter isn't that long…haha. I've been so busy lately but I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible. I don't feel as if this is one of my best chapters but I hope you guys enjoy. Shout out goes to my always dedicated reviewer The Tobi inside me! You're utterly awesome and amazing for always reviewing each chapter. On towards the story though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Chapter 6**

**The Last Night**

...

Naruto cringed internally as he saw the precious necklace wave back in forth in the demon's hand. The sapphire jewel sparkled beautifully when the light hit it just right and oh how Naruto wished he could just grab it from Sasuke's hold.

"How the hell did you get that bastard?" Naruto shouted angrily whilst pointing an accusing finger at the culprit. The waving of the gem stopped and was quickly shoved back into Sasuke's pocket. Naruto silently stood his ground as the demon got up and sauntered over towards him. He watched with steady eyes and retrieved back with every step taken forward by the predator. Unexpectedly, his back collided with the wall, as Sasuke closed the short distance between them.

A smooth pale hand caressed a whiskered marked cheek sending a signal of pleasure all throughout Naruto's body. The boy hid his discomfort well as he stared straight into those mesmerizing eyes. To say that Sasuke wasn't impressed would be a lie. The demon was more than happy to discover how stubborn and strong his mate was. Even when Naruto knew there was no escape, he still kept fighting. Sasuke smirked at that fact and slid his hands towards the boy's chin. He jerked it up aggressively for a better view of those angelic features.

"Where's that lewd expression that you were casting me with a while ago?" Sasuke mocked.

"Fuck you." Naruto spat back as he jerked his head away from Sasuke's grip. "Answer my question damn it!"

Sasuke could only smirk at the setup of wording. "Well…..yes Naruto, I would gladly fuck you. Is that what you wanted to hear?" He love getting the blond riled up, all the facial expressions were sent straight to his groin as he backed the boy further up against the wall. "Hm? Did you want me to go into detail as well, on how I would have you squirming beneath me, begging me to thrust faster, deeper, har-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a fist connected with his face yet again and sent him staggering backwards a few spaces.

It was Naruto's turn to smirk in triumph as he took the chance and ran for the door. Before he could even touch the bronzed knob though, something pulled him down hard and sent his face connecting with the ground. He landed with a loud enough thump that would surely send some red flags to Iruka. Naruto was about to stand back up when a heavy weight settled on top of him. Both his hands were pinned to the side this time and his body was practically glued to the floor. He felt long dark bangs tickle his cheek and knew it was Sasuke.

"Thought you could get away with two punches and not get punished Naruto?" Sasuke stated a bit irritably. His hands slid under Naruto's throat and lifted the boys head up as if to form a ninety degree angle. Naruto cringed in pain, feeling as if his head was going to snap off any minute. "Listen closely to me Naruto, you belong to me now. The more you try to defy me and escape, the more pain I will cause to you both mentally and physically. Don't think that just because I've wanted you, doesn't mean that I can't kill you."

Naruto listened closely to the words with his eyes shut. It was true to what Tsunade had said then, Sasuke had only wanted him for his special powers…only wanted to use him.

"In about two minutes Iruka is going to run up here and ask if you're okay. You're going to say that there is nothing wrong and that you just fell off your bed." Sasuke advised as he let go of the blonde's chin.

Naruto sighed in relief of the pressure as he rested on the lush carpet. He turned his head side ways to face the demon to reply.

"And why would I do that?"

"I was only thinking of your best interest Naruto or would you rather me kill your caretaker instead?" Sasuke suggested as if he was talking about the weather.

Naruto knew he couldn't win this battle and even if Sasuke was bluffing, he wouldn't risk Iruka's life in a gamble of chance. Just as the demon had predicted, sounds of footsteps quickly approached the door and the knob wiggled erratically.

"Is everything okay in there Naruto?"

The blonde never knew he would be so relieved to hear Iruka's caring voice, but this was probably the last time he was going to hear it again. He died at the thought of it and knew that there were probably droplets of tears waiting to slide down his whiskered cheeks.

"Naruto are you okay? The doors locked." Iruka's voice beamed in like a ray of light. He felt Sasuke's weight lift off him a little, allowing breathing to be a bit easier.

"Yeah…Iruka, I'm fine! I just fell off the bed from...a bad dream but there's no need to worry." Naruto forced out.

"Are you sure? Are you hurt? Here, open the door and let me see," Iruka pressured on, bent on coming in no matter what.

"No Iruka! I'm fine, I just need some rest…I've had to go through a lot in the past week so just let me sleep," Naruto hollered aloud, praying that Iruka would leave. It was utterly silent but both of the guys knew that Iruka was still lingering on the other side of the door. A few minutes passed slowly and finally Naruto heard some shuffling of footsteps going down the stairs. He was just about to breathe in a sigh of relief when it was shuffled back up the stairs again and another loud knock made its way through the room.

"Naruto, are you still awake?" Iruka's voice beamed in again, laced with concern.

Sasuke prodded Naruto's side for him to reply. "Yeah just a little bit but I'm about to fall back to sleep."

"Oh, sorry for waking you back up but…. I just want you to know, I love you Naruto."

At those three words, the first droplet of tear slid to freedom as it streamed down the boy's cheek. He couldn't help it as the tears continued to find the outlet, pouring like a fountain onto the carpet. "I love you too." Naruto slurred out gratefully at having such a wonderful father.

Iruka's voiced pierced through one last time. "What color was Gama-chan again?"

Naruto hesitated for a millisecond, a taken back by the odd question until something hit him like a ton of bricks. A huge smile lit up his somber features and he continued to smile, there was still hope yet.

"Gama-chan is red Iruka," Naruto replied back slowly, laying his head on the ground.

Sasuke ignored the odd question, and deemed it to be a father-son connection, something he didn't necessarily have. He listened closely to make sure that Iruka was gone for good this time before continuing his plan. The stillness and the thickness of the tension created an uneasy atmosphere as Sasuke waited a little bit more. When he was positive that the man was gone, the demon easily slid off the blond. Naruto stayed in his spot on the ground as he heard the other scuffle to a standing position.

"Are you done with playing games, Sasuke?" Naruto mumbled from his exhausted state on the floor. He didn't even have to see the demon's face to know that he was probably grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses, Naruto." Sasuke answered. He squatted down to the blonde's level and urged the boy to turn over. Naruto obeyed unwillingly, rotating his body so his back was now connecting with the carpet. The only thing running through his mind was to be smart, and obey the bastard for the time being. He knew the demon was most likely watching him intently at this point but he paid no heed to it. Naruto kept his eyes shut from the world and most definitely shut from Sasuke.

"Open your eyes dobe," Sasuke lulled out pleasantly, as if he just hadn't used an insult in the sentence. Against the blonde's determination, his eyes sluggishly opened to the smooth voice hypnotizing his mind. He came face to face with Sasuke but instead of endless pools of lack, the eyes were a crimson red with three black tomas spinning wildly. The motions seem to entrance Naruto in and before he knew it, his vision was slowly fading to darkness.

Sasuke persistently stared at the blonde until he caught sight of the constant rhythm of the rise and fall of Naruto's chest. The boy slumbered peacefully from the hypnoses and didn't even budge when Sasuke picked him up bridal style. The demon smirked at the prize in his arms and couldn't wait to show case his new lover to the underworld. With that thought in mind, Sasuke summoned his powers and instantly disappeared.

...

Iruka sat calmly downstairs on the sofa. His foot created a tapping rhythm as he waited unwearyingly for the time to pass. It seemed like eons later did he finally hear the knock on the front door. All patience that he held flew out the window and he rushed to open it. Standing on the other side was Kakashi and his one visible eye.

"Yo."

Iruka disregarded the greeting and pulled the man quickly inside, shutting the door behind him. He practically dragged Kakashi to the couch and pushed the man onto the sofa.

"Kakashi, we have huge problem!" Iruka all but shouted to the other male. "Naruto's in trouble."

Kakashi stared at the other adult with mild confusion. This was not what he had expected when Iruka had called him with a code black emergency. That had only happened once and it was probably the best night of his life. Kakashi smirked at the thought of the last encounter but that thought was out of the window at the sound of Naruto.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, watching the man pace uncontrollably back and forth,

"I heard a thump a while ago in Naruto's room and went to go check it out. When I got up there he locked the door so I just asked him if he was okay. He said he was but… I get a feeling there's something else."

"Maybe you're just over exaggerating Iruka." Kakashi reasoned.

"No, I'm not." Iruka stated defiantly as he came to sit down next to the silver haired man. "Look, when Naruto was younger, we developed a system of codes to let each other know how the other was feeling. We made the codes around Gama-chan."

"You mean Naruto's frog purse that you got for him from the Spring Festival?"

"Yes! I thought he had forgotten about those codes but, I wanted to give it a try. I asked him what color Gama-chan was and he said red." Iruka explained. He looked straight into Kakashi's eyes, trying to find some truth to his explanation. "If he wasn't in trouble, why would he say that?"

"Well, what color _is_ Gama-chan?" Kakashi asked.

"Green." Iruka answered. "If Gama-chan is green then that means everything is okay, next is yellow for a bit of uneasiness but still good but red…red mean's something's wrong."

Kakashi listened intently to Iruka's voice. He had hoped it wouldn't have come to this but, it seemed as if there was no other alternative.

"I'm sure if we were to check Naruto's room right now, it would be empty."

The silver haired man nodded at the suggestion but decided to prove it any way as he grabbed the brunette and led them both up the stairs. At reaching the door, Kakashi twisted the door knob hesitantly and pushed it open. The door swung widely only to reveal an empty room. Iruka fell to his knees at the hollow space, knowing that there was nothing they could do now. Sasuke had Naruto completely in his grasp.

"What do we do Kakashi?" Iruka asked; hope seeming to dim from his voice.

Kakashi sighed loudly at the inconvenience of everything that Sasuke had brought upon them. It appeared that the only option to take now was to contact Lord Namikaze, Naruto's father.

...

**A/N: I know a lot of people asked me this question but I couldn't reply because I had to reveal it later on :) I don't know when the next chapter will be out but I hope this one was up to everyone's expectations! So glad to finally start getting into some action here! Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey you guys! Sorry for the way overdue update. I've been working on this chapter throughout the whole week along with my other school work. I wanted to make sure this chapter was a little bit longer and that's why I refrained from posting it until I had a decent number of words. Other than that, I just want to truly thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart! I've never reached over one hundred reviews before for any of my stories so I am well flattered! So the dedication goes out to everyone this round! On towards the story though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own**

**Chapter 7**

**A New Perspective**

**...**

Naruto shifted around comfortably in what seemed like a dream bed. The fabric rubbing against his skin was beyond the definition of smooth. His head had to be lying on a poof of cloud to be so tantalizingly soft. Everything was so surreal and his body felt absolutely wonderful being adored by such heavenly objects. As much as he wanted to continue sleeping in the bed of paradise, an annoying light was shining directly into his eyes. Unwillingly, the blonde gave in as his eye lids slipped opened to unveil unfamiliar scenery. He willed his upper body up to gain better view of the vast amount of space surrounding him. Naruto knew he was definitely not in his room anymore. Memories of last night resurfaced in his mind and the confrontation with Sasuke was evident as well. The last thing he remembered was crimson eyes and then blacking out. The blonde's eyes curiously scanned the magnificent room, taking in every detail it had to offer. He was more than positive that this was probably the bastard's room and felt jealousy bubble up at the indulgence the demon had.

The room was a pure definition of extravagant. The walls were a beige color with a huge mahogany book shelf aligned against the right side. There was a double glass door opposite, leading to a small balcony that overlooked the landscape. He felt so small compared to the vast amount of luxury that was presented in front of him. The bed that he was occupying was surely larger than a king size bed. Naruto noted the rich embroidery on the golden sheets and stirred pleasantly on the silk coverings. There were four bed posts that stood almost to the ceiling, embellished in ruby curtains that flowed effortlessly to the floor.

The blonde was awed and at a complete lost for words. Grudgingly, Naruto hesitantly got out of bed and walked towards the glass doors. The source of lighting was definitely coming from the doors and he inched forward to touch the hot panels of glass. His fingers instantly warmed at the contact and Naruto couldn't help but push forward to catch a glimpse of the outside world.

The wind gently breezed in as the door continued to separate with his force. The scenery that assaulted his vision was absolutely breath taking. Naruto could see fields and forest of green. There were splashes of color everywhere and the sky was unusually blue. The blond was astonished at the discovery of such wonders but couldn't help but muse where Sasuke could be. If he'd remembered correctly, the teme had practically abducted him from the human world.

As if on cue, Naruto heard the opening of a door inside the grand room. He sighed loudly, knowing that the peace and serenity of that section wasn't going to linger much longer. Without any more delaying, the blond retreated back inside the room, leaving the window opened. Naruto scanned the room upon entering and finally settled on a single form near a small table area. He didn't recall seeing that expanse of space but strode towards it nonetheless. The demon was relaxed against the cushions of the seat and it seemed as if he had a wardrobe change as well. Sasuke was dressed spectacularly for a lavish event, white shirt tucked in with a red over coat and all. Regardless of his attire, Naruto couldn't help but want to punch the lights out of the guy anyway. He refrained from the thought and opted to sit across from the raven, waiting for the other to speak. Instead of communicating, Sasuke just stared out openly at the blonde, face as serene as can be. The staring and silence commenced for over ten more minutes until Naruto finally had enough. He broke his gaze away and sighed irritably at the childish display.

"If you won't start talking then I will." Naruto stammered out, eyes darting around the room. He refused to look into the bastard's eyes case he gets hypnotized again.

His statement was met with stillness, just the slight gust of the wind blowing in.

The blonde was beginning to get annoyed at the demon. He could feel the intense stare burning at his skin bit still refused to meet those black orbs. Seconds passed, and those seconds soon turned to minutes as the silence continued.

Naruto gnashed his teeth angrily together, he turned his body completely towards the Uchiha and glared violently, "Talk damn it!"

He watched in fascination as the blank expression converted into a sly smirk. "You're so cute when riled up Naruto" those lips produced.

The blond cringed internally at the statement, wanting to retaliate with force but chose to be wise and slumped back in his chair instead. He lifted his arms up to create an x formation over his face. Sasuke was a bit surprised by the unexpected reaction but didn't fuss it out loud.

"What do you want?" he heard the blonde murmur under his breath. He analyzed the tense figure, realizing the strained he had been putting Naruto through lately. The demon didn't fully consider the boy's feelings into the situation when he was constructing his plan.

"I thought it was obvious, I want you Naruto."

The boy froze at those words and let his arms slide to a comfortable position at his side. He shifted in his seat to face the blazing light outside and couldn't help but want to run. The only problem was where he would run to; he didn't even know where he was!

As if reading his thoughts, Sasuke answered lightly to ease the curiosity. "You're in the Underworld Naruto, the only way out is with someone who can transport you back to your world."

Still, Naruto contemplated his freedom and continued to look towards the window, eyes not batting once. Sasuke saw this indifference and decided to talk at last.

"Naruto, look at me," he commanded with force. The blonde hesitantly turned towards the Uchiha, hoping for some answers at least. "I'll make a deal with you."

Now the guy had Naruto's full attention, if it was a deal Sasuke wanted, then he would play smart until Iruka figured something out to find him.

Seeing the boy's eyes gleamed over with interest, Sasuke continued. "My deal is that you give me one month to woo you over. If after a month, you truly aren't satisfied, then I will return you to your human world."

Naruto was bewildered by the man's offer. There had to be more to the deal than what was being said. "What's the catch?"

Sasuke was pleased that the boy wasn't as dumb as his actions had been so far but he wanted to play a little bit more. "What are you talking about?"

"I know your kind Sasuke, there is always a catch, a restriction, or a rule that I have to abide to, isn't there?"

"You're right Naruto," Sasuke answered; maybe it was time he began treating the boy with respect. "The rules are simple, you are not to leave my sight without my permission, you must stay within the grounds of the Uchiha property, and you will not fight back against any of my demands. You will listen to all my orders as long as it concerns your safety. If you break any of the rules then the deal is off."

"What! But that's so many rules to follow!" Naruto argued. At this rate he wouldn't ever be going home. The bastard was practically setting him up for failure.

"The deal is set and so are the rules. At least be grateful that I am not giving you an ultimatum dobe. Now, do you accept, Naruto Uzumaki? Or are you going to cower from it?"

The boy scowled angrily at the demon. Sasuke practically backed him up against a wall, with only one escape route. Might as well be an ultimatum at the requests he had to follow. However, how dare that teme bring his pride into play also, Naruto was no coward.

"I accept, Uchiha but why give me a chance to win my freedom when you've waited so long for the seal to wear off?"

Sasuke grinned slyly not bothering for a reply. The blonde watched his form stand and make for the entrance door about ready to leave.

"Stay in here, I'll bring you a change of clothes and something to eat." Sasuke stated out, twisting the knobs of the door.

Naruto fumed at the lack of acknowledgment from his question. "Hey I asked you a question teme!" He was about ready to go pound the pretty boy's face into the ground when Sasuke turned to face him, both pair of eye's connecting instantaneously.

Sasuke's lips curved into a smile and Naruto felt his heart skip at least two beats from the way the Uchiha's eyes seem to bore into his soul.

"Because I know you won't be able to resist."

...

Kakashi sat silently on his couch just staring at his coffee table. He contemplated the thought of traveling to the underworld to inform Lord Namikaze about the recent crises with Naruto. The only problem being his energy was far below normal level. He sighed loudly; there was no way Iruka would be up for any recharging seeing as Naruto still hadn't been returned home yet.

When the silver haired man took on this long term mission, it never crossed his mind that a situation like this would happen. The last eighteen years were quite relaxing, seeing as the seal did all the work of voiding many demons away. Minato had found out too late that Kushina was pregnant and by the time he got the message, his wife had already passed away. It was a terrible time as Minato mourned his lover's death and on that day, he vowed to protect his son at all cost. Unfortunately, the seal placed on the boy made it impossible to bring him to the underworld and Minato just couldn't leave either. That was where Kakashi fit in. He was ordered on the secret mission of protecting Naruto.

The masked man spent countless days watching the child grow up and eventually wormed his way into the boy's life. Everything worked out so well as he and Iruka became acquainted over the years. Even when he told Iruka the truth about his identity as an incubus, and his mission, the brunette already knew. He smiled at the thought of how observant his lover was and didn't regret taking on the mission at all.

Kakashi's eye shifted to the ticking clock on the wall and noted that time was wasting. He should have mentioned Sasuke to Minato a long time ago but didn't think it was important. Sasuke was never a physical threat to Naruto as long as the seal was in place but he commended the demon for his persistence. There wouldn't be a problem either if Naruto hadn't removed his necklace. He could practically see the power barrier surrounding the blonde when Tsunade put it on him.

The only way Sasuke would even be able go near the blonde was if he had taken the necklace off. Kakashi cursed the fates for making Naruto such a klutz. There was no denying the obvious solution though; he would have to use the last of his strength to travel. Maybe he could bum some energy off of a local cambion in the palace. Iruka wouldn't be too happy about the idea but that was the life of an incubus. Kakashi focused the last of his energy together and within a few seconds, his body vanished.

...

There was an eerie feeling gnawing at the back of blonde man's mind but he couldn't place a finger on what it might be. He paced back and forth in his giant study, trying to figure out the possibilities. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, shattering the silence of the room.

"Come in." he voiced out. The double doors opened slowly to reveal his long time student.

"Long time no see, Lord Namikaze."

"I've told you already Kakashi, just Minato is fine." He replied back to the silver haired man. The lord walked casually towards his pupil when he noticed something wrong with the other's stance. "Kakashi…"

At the sound of his name, Kakashi fell to his knees out of exhaustion. He hadn't traveled back to the underworld for a quite a while and forgot just how much energy it took out of him. Minato ran to Kakashi's side immediately out of concern when his help was pushed away.

"I'm fine," he replied and stood up shakily. He was slowly led to a nearby seat and sat down gratefully. "There's been a problem Minato."

The blonde man's heart stilled a little at those words. The last time he had this haunch the love of his life was murdered and now, what else was there to take.

"It's about Naruto, he's been kidnapped."

Minato stared confused at Kakashi. "Why don't you simply retrieve him back, I'm sure a human is a no match against you."

"That's the problem, he's been kidnapped by the incubus, Sasuke."

"What!" the blond man exclaimed, "By…Sasuke…"

Minato rummaged through his mind at that familiar name. Surely, he recognized it from somewhere but couldn't place a hold on it. Kakashi noticed the coils turning in his lord's mind and decided to help the guy out.

"Sasuke Uchiha, youngest son of Fugaku Uchiha."

Minato slapped a hand across his forehead, dumbfounded by the answer. Of course it was Fugaku's son, those Uchiha's always thinking they could take whatever they wanted. He wasn't exactly on speaking terms with the King. Their last contact with each other was during the competition for King of the Underworld and they were both after the other's throat. It wasn't as if Minato wanted the title but as the image for the Southern Kingdom, he couldn't go down without a fight. Fugaku misinterpreted the resistance and the battle ended up harshly for both. The late king still didn't trust Minato, paranoid that the Lord of the Southern Kingdom was trying to steal his throne. In all honesty, that was the last thing on his mind. He didn't want to rule all four kingdoms that dwelled within the underworld. Minato was simply happy with ruling his portion of the lands.

"Minato…how do you suppose we deal with this situation?" Kakashi questioned.

The man snapped out of his musings and pondered over a plan that could get his son back. The seal had just been lifted off of Naruto, allowing Minato to finally be with his son and now Sasuke had kidnapped him. One thing did confuse him though.

"How does Sasuke know about Naruto?" he voiced out.

The other was silent at the question knowing that it was partially his fault for underestimating the young Uchiha incubus. "Sasuke had known about Naruto ever since he was a child. After the attack on Kushina, the boy has been pursing your son nonstop. I didn't think it would be a problem… but I was mistaken."

"It's alright," Minato supplied. "I'm to blame for this as well."

In all justice, he hadn't been the best father to Naruto either. Instead of watching after his son, he sent Kakashi to do it and simply kept tabs as the boy grew older. He had no right to be angry at another when the majority of the blame was on him. The other male was probably more of a father figure than he was.

"For now, let's think of getting him back. I'm sure Fugaku wouldn't even dream of letting his own son mate with mine." Minato reassured.

Kakashi watched his elder stroll towards the double doors and pull at the golden handles.

"I think it's time I finally bestow our dearest King a well over due visit."

...

**A/N: Another chapter done! I hope this chapter was good and I do apologize for any mistakes I made. I surely poured all my efforts into this one! Please Review and No Flames please. Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry for the lateness of the chapter, I was going to post it up earlier but wanted to make some last minute revisions. Shout out this time goes to Teberz, your review truly made my day! On towards the story though! **

"_Italics" equals flashback and thoughts_

**Disclaimer: Don't own. **

**Chapter 8**

**The Problem **

...

Sasuke Uchiha, youngest prince of the Underworld walked with dignity and pride as he strode through the extended corridors residing in the west wing. Servants bowed respectfully to their handsome prince as he walked passed them, not even bothering to spare a glance. He journeyed to the kitchen quite quickly, knowing full well that his blond must be hungry. It was such an inconvenience that the kitchen was so far away though. All he wanted to do was stare at the cambion all day long but at the moment, that would have to wait. He felt a small smile tug at the side of his lips but refused to let it surface. If anyone saw him smiling like a goof ball, rumors would surely spread throughout the whole kingdom. Regardless of the way he acted around Naruto, he was still an Uchiha with standards to follow.

"Otouto," a deep baritone voice sounded behind him. The raven visibly flinched, cursing at his luck for running into that person. He turned around to prove his point and as Sasuke foretold, Itachi stood in all his glory, emotionless as ever.

"Yes, Itachi?" Sasuke grounded out. Of all days to run into the guy, it had to be today.

Itachi's face suddenly morphed into that signature smirk in which all Uchiha men seemed to posses. "My, my, dear Sasu-chan, what's gotten you so riled up?"

Sasuke cringed at that old name in which his older brother used to taunt him with, it never failed in irritating him to no end.

"Fuck off Itachi, not in the mood today." He replied back harshly and briskly turned to carry on his way. Unfortunately for Sasuke, that comment only increased the older man's curiosity and consequently ignited his interest even more. Itachi persistently followed after his younger brother, an evil smile forming on his lips as he practically felt the raves of anger radiating off the boy.

_Today is turning out to be such a great day. _Itachi thought to himself as he stalked after Sasuke. From the looks of the turn, it seemed as if his otouto was heading towards the kitchen. It was a bit odd though because Sasuke never ate in the middle of the afternoon. This definitely answered the small rumor circulating quickly through the castle grounds. Itachi smirked out how careless his brother had been and reminded himself to thank the maids for letting him in on the latest gossip.

_At first he thought the young red-heads were just lying to him when he asked what they were giggling about. The sun had barely risen over the mountains and people were laughing, now that was something Itachi didn't understand. _

"_Our apologies your majesty," one of the maids still chuckled out annoyingly. Itachi was about ready to walk on towards his destination when the girl continued. "It's just that Prince Sasuke brought home an unknown guest last night that none of us have ever seen before." _

_This certainly raised Itachi's eyebrows in question. From what he knew, Sasuke hated succubus, other incubus, and well….practically anything that moved. _

"_Did you happen to see this other individual?" Itachi questioned out of curiosity. _

"_Yes my lord," the other red-head replied happily, seeming to be on cloud nine because Prince Itachi was speaking to her. "The boy was blonde with these…weird whisker like marks on his cheeks, and…and his skin was very tan."_

_Itachi took in all the information from both maids and smiled pleasantly at them before striding off. He swore he heard a loud thump as one of the servants fell to the floor unceremoniously but continued on nonetheless. _

He was suddenly jotted out of his flash back as Sasuke coughed unintentionally loud whilst still moving down the never ending hall. He didn't let it faze him one bit and did the same.

"Stop following me!" Sasuke all but yelled at the pestering like shadow. "Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?"

Itachi chose not to reply and kept his cool composure even when Sasuke turned to throw him a quick glare of death.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi murmured out. "You're so arrogant and self-absorbed that you can't even tell that I am simply just heading towards the kitchen for a meal. The fact that our paths collided is a mere coincidence."

Sasuke stopped in his tracks altogether, seething as Itachi passed him, snickering lightly.

"Fucking asshole," Sasuke muttered under his breath. If Itachi wanted to play it like that then he would let him. There were two kitchens anyway and Sasuke knew that Itachi personally preferred the main one. Seeing that Itachi had strolled ahead out of sight, Sasuke quickly ran back down the hall and took a small passage connecting another corridor together with it. The smaller kitchen was even longer to get to but it would be worth it if he didn't have to see Itachi's face. He knew that prying bastard knew something about Naruto or else he wouldn't be so persistent.

Sasuke cursed those stupid red-head maids that saw him entering into the private guest room. He was positive one of them must have leaked something out to Itachi. Sasuke grumbled furiously but disregarded it because unrelatedly to anything that happened, he still had Naruto. That thought itself rid Sasuke of any other temperament and he resumed, feeling a little bit better.

...

It seemed like eons ago since Sasuke had left the room. Naruto didn't realize how hungry he was until the demon had mentioned food and now, he was starving. He was sitting quite impatiently for the bastard's return but it seemed like he wasn't returning soon. The blond sighed loudly to himself at the inconvenience of a situation he was in. The last words that Sasuke said still ran through his mind rampantly and he couldn't help but wonder if he could resist the guy. Naruto already came to terms with himself, recognizing his lust for the demon as well but that didn't mean anything. The blond was never really big on relationships, even in his past eighteen years of life, he'd never really dated. No girl ever seemed right for him. That was the main reason he hopped over the fence but that never felt right either. Naruto just finally grasped that his first full on interaction was with Sasuke. He blushed furiously at the thought of how lewd he had been to the other boy. Memories of words and actions flooded to his mind unwillingly, and he couldn't help that his body felt hotter than before.

Suddenly, he heard the doors creak open and looked to see Sasuke carrying in a big tray of food back inside the room. The door shut as quickly as it opened as the guy easily maneuvered the tray onto his other hand. Naruto's stomach growled noisily at the different aromas which assaulted his senses. He wondered idly what the demon had brought for him to eat. That thought was quickly satisfied as his heart leaped with joy at seeing a steaming, hot bowl of ramen. If the blond didn't have any self-control he would have jumped up and glomped Sasuke, but he carefully waited for the other to make his way over.

Sasuke slowly set the tray of delicious food down on the table and plopped onto the closest seat. Who would have known that a trip to get food would be so tiring? Luckily he didn't run into Itachi afterwards and had a peaceful journey back. He noticed the dobe staring hungrily at the offered food and chuckled lightly. The voyage to get food was definitely worth it.

"What are you waiting for dobe, go ahead and eat." Sasuke stated. The look on the blonde's face suddenly contorted into a suspicious glare.

"Hey teme," Naruto asked.

"No," Sasuke answered before the blond could even open his mouth to resume with his thoughts. He crossed his arms together and continued, "The food does contain any poison, viagra, seduction drug, hallucination pills, or anything else you can think of."

Naruto's mouth dropped from the accusation and threw the nearest object he could find at the demon, which was a small pillow.

"Teme! I was just going to ask how you knew what my favorite food was, you baka!"

Sasuke faltered a bit from condemning the boy and cleared his throat to rid him of his slight embarrassment. "Well, I did follow you for about eight years so it would be a shame if I didn't know your favorite meal."

It dawned on the blonde in realization that Sasuke _had_ been watching his everyone move for about a decade. Here he was thinking that the demon only wanted him for power and yet, Sasuke knew things about him. Naruto wondered idly what else the other had found out about him throughout the years. Disregarding the slight chill he felt from being stalked, the blonde grabbed the pair of chop sticks and began to eat his noodles nonetheless.

Sasuke watched in fascination as the other boy ate. He felt so content at finally being able to be so close to his obsession.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto began again between slurps. "What else do you know about me?"

The demon was a bit startled by the question. It didn't seem to faze Naruto at all that he was in the Underworld and having lunch with a demon at that. Sasuke could only shake his head, loving the innocence and cluelessness of his blonde idiot.

"I know just about as much as you know about yourself Naruto." Sasuke cockily supplied. The boy hmphed at the answer and kept eating. A silence began between the two and the only sounds that could be heard were the slurping of Naruto's ramen. Sasuke didn't mind the quietness actually and was quite content with the coziness of it all.

As quickly as that moment came to the demon, it vanished just as fast when Sasuke heard a loud knock on his door. Naruto finished his meal just in time to turn to the door suddenly at the insistent noise. Sasuke protested angrily at being disturbed at such a peaceful time and stood to kill the person on the other side. The blond watched the other make his way towards the door but decided to stand and follow to.

As Sasuke reached the door, he opened it just a crack to see who was outside. Unfortunately, he came face to face with much unwanted company.

"Itachi," Sasuke growled out, knowing full well his brother brought forth only trouble.

"Sasuke," Itachi replied, "We need to talk."

"No." was the younger Uchiha's one word reply. He was just about to shut the door too when a loud mouth idiot's voice pierced from behind him.

"Hey Sasuke, who is it?" Naruto shouted out a few paces behind the Uchiha.

Sasuke couldn't help but die inside at the turn of events. Naruto speaking was like opening a Pandora's Box and now all of Itachi's evils would be unleashed upon them. As if on cue, the door pushed opened with a powerful force that threw Sasuke back a couple of steps. Itachi easily made his way inside past Sasuke on towards the holder of the sound.

The man was going to resort to force anyway but hearing the voice of another elevated his interest too much. As Itachi walked towards the other, he noted all the entrancing details the boy possessed. Golden blonde hair and oceanic blue eyes adorned a face that was unlike any the Underworld had to offer. Regardless of the boy's obvious beauty though, it was a shame that Itachi preferred redheads instead. That didn't stop the quick maneuvering Sasuke had to do to rush forward and block Itachi's path.

"He's mine aniki, step down," Sasuke snarled out protectively over the blonde. Naruto's heart fluttered at those words but at the same time his body flinched at the thought of being own. He was not something someone could just take.

"Step aside Sasuke," Itachi began as he progressed forward. "I don't want what's already taken."

"Bullshit Itachi, I can see the lust in your eyes as clear as day," Sasuke argued back, not once backing down from the older brother.

Itachi simply shook his head at Sasuke's childish display. The boy was so in over his head infatuated with the blond, he couldn't even see the truth anymore.

"Sasuke you imbecile, my eyes can't deny that his features are striking but I am here on different business grounds." Itachi explained.

Sasuke looked for any lies in the older demon's eyes and after finding none, his body relaxed a little to a steady level. Itachi noticed the tension gone and began to say what he really needed.

"Father wants to see you immediately in his study for questionings?" Itachi stated.

Naruto watched mutely as the whole scene unraveled in front of him. He noticed that at the mentioned of Sasuke's father, the demon tensed up immediately and his whole body almost shook.

"Why does father want to speak with me?" Sasuke answered back coolly, an opposite to his actions.

"Sasuke, don't try to fool yourself, you know exactly why."

Both brothers exchanged a knowing look between each other as Itachi was the first to break away and turn back towards the door. He walked away, leaving a stunned Sasuke and a quiet Naruto in the room. Just as Itachi was about to open the door though, his otouto's voice broke through before he could go.

"How?" Sasuke questioned. He was so careful when bringing Naruto back home, he was certain it wasn't going to be for a few weeks until his father would find out. Until then, Sasuke was going to ask him and lie to him about the whole situation. The original plan totally backfired.

"Before you go grabbing things that don't belong to you," Itachi started, hand twisting the knob open. "You should do a thorough background check and identification first or you might just end up taking Namikaze's only son."

Sasuke's body stilled and he felt as if his mind hit an epiphany. He didn't even noticed Itachi's disappearing figure as the guy let himself out. All Sasuke could hear was Namikaze's son. How could he be so blind as to not see the resemblance in the features? How could Sasuke call himself a genius when he missed such a big puzzle piece?

"Oi, Sasuke…what does Itachi mean by Namikaze's son?" Naruto asked, clearly confused.

Sasuke stared in disbelief at the foreign look on the boy's face. Did Naruto really not know?

"Dobe, he means what he says. You're Lord Namikaze's son."

...

**A/N: So to answer a lot of your questions, no Sasuke didn't know. I hope the Next chapter does come out quicker, but I don't want to make any promises because next week is going to be a busy week for me. Thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! I cannot apologize enough on the lack of updating. I've been busy, and even though it is the summer, I still have plenty of work to do. But that's no excuse! I could have gotten this up earlier but I wanted take a short break and write a one shot too. Any who hope this chapter satisfies. On to the Story!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Chapter 9**

**Another Encounter**

**...**

_Fugaku Uchiha. Lord of the Underworld, father to two genius son, and feared by many. He wanted nothing too ambitious and yet had everything. That was the true key to power in his mind. The only other person standing in the way of that dream was that Uzumaki Lord. They were once good friends, eons ago but now, it was more like forced acquaintances. On that note, he hadn't seen nor heard from the other since the battle for ruling the Underworld. Imagine his surprise when a letter was urgently handed to him by a servant explaining that it was from Lord Namikaze. Fugaku tore open the letter in a hurry only to reveal some disturbing news. Shockingly, the letter slipped out easily from his grip to the ground._

"_Send for Itachi," the Lord ordered out lowly. The servant bowed respectfully with a small yes sir and literally ran out the door in fear. As the door slammed shut, Fugaku's face twisted into an ugly scowl. He slammed his fist onto the table in a fit of rage, the words Minato wrote running through his mind. How dare his disobedient son bring a half breed into their home and the Namikaze's son no less. He didn't want the Namikaze to step foot on his property but his image would be tarnished because people actually enjoyed the company of the older blonde. The Lord ran a soothing hand through his messy raven locks, contemplating what move to make next. He was snapped out of concentration when the door slowly opened to reveal a slightly identical version of his younger self. With proudness, he looked to his eldest son, capturing the other's cold emotionless eyes. Itachi was his prodigy son and the only son he had high hopes for in the future. Sasuke was too rebellious and spent half his time wondering around in the human world. It was ridiculous but as the boy's father, he should have seen it coming. Fate had a cruel way of returning everything back to its original position. _

"_You called for me father?" Itachi asked head slightly tilted down in respect. _

"_Itachi, have you seen Sasuke lately?" Fugaku asked, not beating around the bush at all. He was never one to be dancing around the subject, he preferred outward bluntness instead._

"_I saw him just a while ago heading towards the kitchen but afterwards, I haven't." Itachi answered honestly. There was complete silence for the longest time; neither individual bothering to shift in place but Itachi knew exactly what his father was doing. Fugaku was calculating everything and putting all the signs together. His father also knew that Sasuke rarely ventured to the kitchen, adding more suspicion to what Itachi had already confirmed. _

"_Bring them both to me," the Lord commanded to his son, turning away to look outside the huge glass window behind him. _

"_Yes father." Itachi stated with finality as he swiftly turned on his heels to go find his idiotic brother. Sasuke was in deep shit and this time, his aniki wouldn't be able to do anything about it. _

...

"I'm Lord Nami-what's son?" Naruto murmured out confused after Itachi took his departure from the room. Sasuke rubbed his temples in irritation at Naruto's cluelessness to everything around him. As much as he loved the dobe, there was always a limitation to love.

"Lord Namikaze Naruto, Lord Namikaze," Sasuke repeated like a mantra until the boy could get it. "Remember how Iruka told you that you were a cambion. Well, your father incubus was Lord Namikaze."

"I get it I get it, Lord Namikaze…"Naruto whispered back, annoyed as well. He wasn't a little kid anymore, one time was enough. It was just trying to accept the reality of it all that threw him off. If it was anyone else in his position, they probably would have jumped off a cliff or something because of the craziness. But for Iruka's sake, Naruto would endure because he knew that Iruka would never lie to him. Well, lie when it came to something as important as this. Naruto had to believe. Even if his story was getting crazier and crazier by the moment, he had to believe. He quickly flashbacked to the question Iruka first asked him. Did he believe in the unbelievable?

"I guess I have no choice but to believe," Naruto mumbled out mostly to himself as he completely disregarded Sasuke's presence in the room. Sasuke noticed Naruto's tranced look and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Oi, dobe. Come on, we got to go." He whispered as soothingly as possible. "My father is not one to be kept waiting."

At those words Naruto snapped back into reality and cleared his mind a little. He nodded at the other's words and sat up to face Sasuke's taller form.

"Let's go."

With those two words, Sasuke intertwined his fingers with the blonde and led him to, what felt like, judgment day. To say that the raven wasn't afraid of his father would be an utter lie. His father was the strongest throughout the land, and he seldom ever got along with the guy. All of that didn't matter though. As he walked through the long corridors and turned to a smaller passage way, all fear ebbed away slowly because Naruto never once let go of his hand. It could be that the boy didn't know where to go and was simply letting the other lead but, Sasuke squeezed the other hand tightly for comfort. Naruto felt this and in returned, tighten his grip. There was a small exchange of loyalty from one another and with that, Sasuke felt as if he could conquer any world.

Upon reaching the huge, burgundy doors of the Lord's study, Sasuke sighed loudly and let go of the inviting warmth in Naruto's hand. There was no going back now and no way in hell he would ever regret bringing Naruto to where he belonged. With ease, Sasuke used both his hands to push the double doors open, revealing a luxuriously spacious study room.

If it wasn't for the fact that Naruto was just about to meet the most powerful man in the Underworld, he would have awed at such magnificent beauty. Shelves upon shelves lined against the wall and a giant glass window was centered in the midst of it all, letting heaps of natural light illuminate the room. Through the midst of it all though, as soon as Naruto focused his gaze in the center, he never could take his eyes off the lone figure, standing behind a rectangular mahogany table. The blonde looked to Sasuke for reassurance and seeing the raven stand at his full height unafraid, made Naruto feel a bit better.

"Sasuke," Fugaku's voice boomed out loudly, cutting through the awkward silence in the room. "Leave."

The younger Uchiha was a taken back by that statement, a shocked look forcing its way onto his features. Regardless, he stood his ground and shook his head stubbornly.

"No father, I'm not leaving Naruto alone here with you," He countered back, easing his way to stand a few good feet in front of the blonde.

Fugaku shook his head in shame at Sasuke's defiance. What happened to his second son? Sasuke used to be so loyal and naïve up until his mother died. Maybe her absence was what broke the younger son.

"Sasuke," Fugaku tried again. "I don't want to resort to using force here but I give you my word that I won't harm him. I just need to clarify some things before I jump to any conclusions."

"My word still rings father, even if you give me your word, I'm not going anywhere." Sasuke opposed.

"Then you leave me no choice," The lord muttered out lowly. Before neither boy could comprehend what was happening, Fugaku swiftly moved behind Sasuke and knocked him out cold.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out in concern. He was about to run towards the other when two hands suddenly grabbed him from behind, one slammed over his mouth and the other around his waist. Before he could grasp the situation, the scenery instantly morphed in front of his eyes, as if he was transported somewhere else.

…

When both Naruto and the mystery person were situated in an unknown forest, the hands that held him captive slowly let go. In a fit of anger, the blonde swung his fist around in an attempt to knock the capturer out. During the split second that his fist was going to make contact, Naruto stopped just in time. He thought it was Sasuke at first; the resemblance was so similar that it was hard not to notice the difference.

"What do you want Itachi?" Naruto questioned, taking a few steps back.

"It's not what I want but what I need. And right now, Uzumaki-san, I need for you to run." Itachi answered, showing his back to Naruto about ready to walk away.

"Wait! I can't leave Sasuke!" the blonde yelled at the older man's retreating figure.

"The lord won't kill Sasuke, seeing as that idiot is still his son. Blood ties are the most important things to incubus so don't worry," Itachi explained. He stilled in his tracks and turned around to face the blonde one last time. "You on the other hand, he will not hesitate to kill."

Those words chilled the blonde to no end as Itachi's figure slowly faded the further he walked away. Why save me then, was Naruto's one question that reverberated through his mind. He was sure that if he did ask Itachi, the man would only reply in riddles.

Naruto rid himself of any other questions that weren't going to help the situation. In all honesty, he didn't exactly know where else to go. He didn't know anything about the Underworld. Nothing about the wonders, dangers, or things it possessed. At this point, maybe he could find this Lord Namikaze guy that was supposedly his dad. Perhaps he could enlighten the blonde with more information about what was going on.

Naruto took a deep breath and began venturing through the forest blindly, praying that he could make it somehow.

...

As Itachi made it back to the Uchiha gates, there was already a small party standing outside waiting for him. When he finally approached the others, he bowed his head down respectfully to his father.

"The job is done," Itachi said and afterwards strode off. Lord Uchiha smirked evilly at his son's handiwork. It was Itachi who had suggested the idea of transporting Naruto out to the forest to die. That way, they could both just lie to Sasuke that Naruto was given the option of freedom and took it without a second thought. As much as Fugaku liked the idea however, he preferred a more aggressive approach.

"Sumaru," Fugaku spoke.

The man named Sumaru stepped forward in an answer to his call. "Yes my lord."

"Kill him." Fugaku uttered, with no emotion at all as he paced back towards the house.

"As you command," the man replied and disappeared without a trace.

...

Naruto felt as if he had been wondering for hours upon hours. Everywhere he wandered there were trees and truthfully, he was getting so frustrated with the burning heat. He just remembered that the bastard forgot to bring him a change of clothing so he was still in the same outfit from two days ago. Naruto cursed at the raven but immediately regretted it as he felt a pang of guilt rising up in his chest. As much as he hated to admit it, the teme was actually beginning to grow on him. It was a simple case of Stockholm syndrome but, Naruto really didn't mind it that much. Sasuke was odd but something about him made the guy truly genuine. The blonde pursed his lips at the thought of never seeing the raven again but shot it away as quickly as it surfaced. He needed to focus on getting to the Namikaze castle, not fantasize about the bastard.

Suddenly he heard a twig break and turned swiftly in time to dodge an incoming shuriken. Before he even had time to perceive what was happening, another weapon was thrown at him. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to avoid it and ended up getting cut on the arm as the knife whizzed by him. He bit his lip at the pain and opened wound, steadily dripping blood. Naruto wanted to fight, he really did but in this world, he was out of his league. It wasn't like he trained to kill others during his spare time. Naruto knew basic close range combat style but that was about it. So, he did the only logical thing he could think of, run.

It seemed the predator loved a good chase too as the weapon throwing ceased and he could just hear a set of footsteps following closely behind him. Naruto cursed at his luck. Not only was he almost raped, kidnapped, and abandoned, he now had a killer wanting to kill him for some reason.

He continued running at full speed, adrenaline being the only thing pushing him forward at this point. Even with death on his trails his stomach grumbled loudly, begging for food. He unheeded his hunger signals and kept running until he was forced to stop. If Naruto had progressed further, he would have dived down into a pit of black despair, seeing as the edge of the cliff was only a few feet away. Much to his good luck again, the killer revealed himself from the multitudes of trees. The blonde couldn't make out a face, seeing as the guy was wearing a mask but, that didn't matter anyway.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" Naruto yelled to the masked character.

"Just following orders," the man replied as he threw a set of shurikens at the boy.

There was no way Naruto would be able to avoid three sharp objects coming all at once towards his body. Leisurely, he closed his eyes, his life practically flashing before him. Images of Iruka, Kakashi, his friends, and Sasuke ran through his memory. The odd thing was, death sure took it's time. After two minutes of no pain or agony, Naruto bravely snuck a peak at his surroundings. What he saw surprised him immensely as his killer was lying on the ground, dead. The weapons the other had thrown were scattered on the ground.

"Some people stare death in the eye, unafraid of their consequences yet you close yours?" a voice rumbled from behind him. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound and hurriedly rotated around to face the stranger. He had never seen anyone so, peculiar looking. The other boy seemed no older than Naruto, but the dark eyeliner did age his appearance a lot more. His face was impassive, a contrary to his fiery red hair.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, clearly confused if the guy was a friend or foe.

"My name is Gaara, Lord Kazekage of the western land." He responded promptly.

...

**A/N: Yeah, I know it wasn't that long but hey hopefully the next chapter will be out faster! I really couldn't decide if I wanted to put Gaara's character in or not but I think he's here for the long ride. Thank you for reading and I hope you all review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey Everyone! So I lied, this chapter isn't that much longer and it didn't come out as fast as I wanted it too, please forgive me! I've been so enticed with this new drama that I completely forgot about writing. Nevertheless, the drama ended so here I am, back to writing! I apologize again and hope the next chapter will come out quicker. Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed, I'm so grateful to have such lovely readers! On to the story though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Period.**

**Warnings: A little ooc for the characters maybe, but it's necessary for the story development.**

**Chapter 10**

**A New Start**

...

"You're a lord as well?" Naruto stammered out as the other began walking away. "Wait! Aren't you going to ask me who I am?"

Gaara stopped in his tracks but decided to humor the blonde, honestly he didn't care much for other people but he hated creatures that preyed on the weak. "Who are you then?"

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, thank you for saving my life," He responded and bowed to show respect. Gaara could have sworn he heard that name somewhere before but disregarded it and continued on. His brother wasn't exactly a patient person. It was bad enough he had dragged Kankuro out to the Uchiha's land but if the red head didn't make it back on time, he would never hear the end of it. Besides that factor, they needed to leave as soon as possible before any castle guards found out that they were there uninvited. He proceeded to walk away when he heard a set of footsteps rushing after him.

"Gaara! Wait, let me go with you!" Naruto stated, finally catching up with the Western Lord. He couldn't just stay there with a dead body lying only a few feet away.

The redhead paused, amused by the boys actions. This Naruto was too trusting to strangers, even calling him by his first name as if they'd known each other for years. He contemplated the idea of taking the blonde with him, not exactly too fond of it but…there was something different about this kid. He didn't trouble with a reply but simply nodded his head in agreement. Maybe Naruto was the change that everyone needed.

The blonde sighed with relief on having a destination to go to now. He happily followed after Gaara thankful that he could at least get some much needed information now, about this new world. Unfortunately, he was bummed to see that the other wasn't so talkative. Thirty minutes into their journey and neither of them had spoken a word yet.

"So Gaara, what were you doing in these woods?" Naruto asked, trying to start some sort of conversation to ease the thick atmosphere.

"I should be asking you that question Uzumaki, seeing as you had a trained assassin after you." Gaara replied back dully. "I can see that you clearly aren't from around here, and you lack any fighting skills what so ever."

At that point an angry scowl marred across the blonde's face. Of course he couldn't fight off trained assassins. He never had a reason to fight off a trained assassin, considering that they never bothered to kill him before. Naruto pursed his lips in annoyance and decided to just keep his mouth shut. He didn't exactly understand what was going on, and frankly didn't want to discuss his whole life story to a stranger either. Even if the stranger saved his life, he wasn't going to cling on to every word the guy said.

Naruto understood that he had to do what was best for survival. Walking behind the redhead he felt so lost and confused at the world. He came to a decision that he utterly hated the feeling. Why couldn't that bastard Sasuke just leave him alone? Naruto didn't belong in this demon realm and as the seconds ticked by, he felt more and more unwelcomed. It seemed like someone was etching away his previous life and slowly replacing it with this fantasy new one. He was in a different land with no one he knew. The only person who he could take solace from was the teme that brought him there. Maybe Naruto was being weak, maybe it was all too much but the boy didn't know how to handle the situation anymore. It was as if the silence confirmed the reality of his situation. Reluctantly, a lone tear slid down Naruto's cheek as he trailed after Gaara, his frustration finally finding a release.

Gaara heard a small sniffle and stilled, repressing all motion to move forward. He turned his head slightly to validate the sound of a sob. Naruto almost bumped into the other's form as he stopped too. He didn't even notice that more and more tears were gliding down his cheek as he looked to the redhead. Angrily, he wiped his face away of the moisture, embarrassed that Gaara not only saved him but had to see him cry as well. Naruto felt his pride dwindle down by the second, and the feeling of being useless only resurfaced more.

"I don't know what happened, and I won't bother to ask. But, let me tell you Uzumaki, life goes on." Gaara explained, looking up to the endless clouds of blue in fascination. "If all you do is cry and feel sorry about the situation, nothing good is going to come out of it. I've learned from personal experience that life will move on without you, whether you choose to follow her or not."

Naruto listened intently to the words flowing out of Gaara's mouth like liquid fire. Everything he said was true, and as much as it hurt to hear the truth, it was exactly what he needed to keep moving on. He didn't need to cry and wish that things could be different because, there was no way to change it at that point. He needed to move on.

"Come on, we have to keep going." Gaara ordered. Naruto nodded absentmindedly and paced forward to catch up with the Lord, feeling a bit more assured.

At last, Gaara advanced the two out of the maze like forest into an open clearing where two huge black horses stood. Naruto's gaze shifted back and forth from the majestic animals standing with such grace in the open area. He was positive that his mouth was probably hanging agape but truly, Naruto had never seen anything so stunning.

"Are those really horses?" the blonde asked, intrigued by the grand appearances. They were bigger but still had the notable long mane and strong bone structure. The aura though, that radiated off the animal was just so enticing.

"No." Gaara stated out simply. That word left no more room for conversation and Naruto literally bit his tongue from retorting back. What was up with people and their one word replies? He couldn't decide if Gaara's limited vocabulary was as bad as Sasuke's grunts.

"They're not horses per se but breeds from the Arion lineage. They're the most sought after Arion horses in the land because we're the only kingdom that can breed them." A voice sounded from behind them. Naruto quickly turned and came face to face with the stranger.

"Who's this kid you brought Gaara?" the brown haired guy mumbled out, arms crossed over his chest.

Naruto eyed, who he could only think, was an acquaintance to Gaara. The other had shabby brown hair and odd purple markings lined across his face. Unlike Gaara though, he had so much more of a vibrant personality and physically was more built.

"My name is Naruto." He replied back bowing a little, not sure of the proper customs yet. "Who are you?"

"The name's Kankuro, I'm Gaara's brother." He replied back. Naruto stared in shock as the two held no resemblance at all. It seemed his expression must have been funny, seeing as Kankuro laughed heartedly.

"Yeah, I get that look all the time. Just wait until you meet Temari." He replied back with a broad smile. "So, why are you here?"

The blonde opened his mouth to reply back but then closed it suddenly to halt his thoughts. What was he supposed to say? You're brother saved me from a deadly assassin sounded to suspicious, and he really didn't want Kankuro to think that he was a culprit.

"He's a wanderer and wants to travel with us." Gaara answered plainly, leaving no room for questions. "Let's get going."

The older brother shrugged uncaringly and made his way over to the black beasts. Kankuro easily hopped onto his black Arion horse, rubbing the animal soothingly as it trotted in place. The redhead did exactly the same but as he mounted, Gaara slowly held his hand out for Naruto to take. The blonde understood the motion and quietly sighed to himself. Looking back at the forest of trees, he had only wished that Sasuke would come running out of it and begin scolding him for breaking their deal. Sadly, that was only his fantasy; he'd probably have more luck of seeing a dragon run out of the forest instead. Hesitatingly he turned back to the Lord and grabbed hold of the offered hand. Gaara hoisted him up onto the horse effortlessly and slid both arms under the blonde to grip the reign tightly.

"Hold on," Gaara commanded and whipped the reigns to signal a go. Suddenly the horse jerked forward and ran. Naruto couldn't even begin to describe the speed of power the animal held. He had never been on a horse before but he was positive that they didn't go this fast. The force of the wind speed was hopelessly pushing the blonde against the redhead's chest much to his discomfort. Regardless, Naruto held on to the saddle's front and kept quiet as the animal carried them off to who knows where.

Even with the horses running at full speed, the travel time to the western kingdom was still pretty lengthy. Half way through the trip, Naruto unconsciously dosed off, still wondering mindlessly about Sasuke's wellbeing.

...

Sasuke jerked awake suddenly, a chilling feeling spreading its way throughout his whole body. He lifted his upper torso sluggishly into a sitting position and tried to remember what had happened. For some odd reason, his head was throbbing painfully and there was a dreading feeling in the pit of his stomach. The Uchiha definitely knew something was wrong, the only problem was figuring out what. The last thing he remembered was yelling at Itachi and then going to see his father …with Naruto. Instantly, the raven jumped out of the bed and ran towards the door. He had to find Naruto, knowing his father, there was an unlimited amount of possibilities that the blonde was in danger. Just as he opened the door, a figure he definitely didn't want to see was coincidently blocking his path.

"Itachi, get out of my way!" Sasuke yelled at his older brother. The only thing running through his mind at the moment was finding his blonde. He had to find Naruto!

"Naruto's gone." Itachi murmured out to his otouto, seeing his panicked state.

Sasuke barely heard those two words as he locked eyes with Itachi. "What?"

"He's gone," Itachi said again and observed with pity at Sasuke's shocked expression. He noticed his brother's head bow down and watched the other crumble carelessly to the floor. The older man sighed with disappointment, watching his younger brother act so un-Uchiha like. Love did such horrible things to people and yet, everyone yearned so much for that feeling. Seeing that his brother needed a bit more time to adjust, Itachi turned to leave when Sasuke mumbled out something incoherent.

"What did you say?" Itachi asked, looking back over his shoulders. Fortunately, Sasuke hadn't lost all of his Uchihaness and refused to shed a tear.

"I don't believe you! Where are you hiding him?" Sasuke replied back furiously. After years of chasing after the blonde, he was not going to let his brother and father stand in the way of his life. There was no way Naruto would just…leave him.

"Whether you believe me or not otouto, it's still not going to change the fact that Naruto's left. You can search as much as you want, and you'll never find him." Itachi stated as emotionless as ever. "Father gave him a choice to stay here, with you, or his freedom and of course, Naruto chose his freedom."

Sasuke looked up, dumbstruck as the words his brother mouthed out sank in. He stared into Itachi's eyes for any lies and turned away, knowing there was no way he could even read his brother's expressions. "That's impossible Itachi…Naruto…"

"Naruto left without hesitation. He mentioned something about going to find his father instead of wasting time here, as a prisoner." Itachi continued. "He didn't love you Sasuke; he was only staying because he was unwillingly brought here. Forget about him."

The younger brother turned away completely from Itachi, actions speaking louder than words. The older Uchiha understood entirely and gently closed the door, leaving the younger man to mourn as he pleased. Walking away from the room, Itachi felt a sting of guilt, constantly stabbing at his chest. To say that Itachi enjoyed his brother's pain would be a lie. As much as he loved teasing Sasuke, there was a limitation to the endearment. It didn't matter though, regardless of his thoughts, he had to follow orders for now, until everything began to unfold.

...

Sasuke pressed his back against the wooden doors and slid down into a sitting position as he heard Itachi walk away. Sasuke was aware that he must have looked pretty pathetic to be this heartbroken over an idiot but things just didn't add up right. He knew his dobe, and going back on his word was something the blonde never did. Even if he wanted to leave, Naruto agreed to Sasuke's terms of the deal, and would stick through to it. There was no way the blonde would just leave.

The raven ran sweaty hands through his dark locks, aimlessly thinking over what Itachi had said. Then again, he did take Naruto against his will, into an entirely new world. If it was any other sane person, they would have left at their first chance at freedom. Maybe Naruto wasn't all dumb and loyal after all. Sasuke rubbed his temples at all the intruding thoughts and thumped his head against the door. He didn't know anymore, he didn't know what to do. Even if there was a possibility that Itachi was lying, where was his Naruto?

...

"Naruto, were here."

Naruto easily stirred awake and opened his eyes to see a giant gate, blocking an entrance to outside travelers. He jumped slightly when he heard a slow creaking sound and suddenly, the gates gradually opened to the most amazing sight the blonde had ever seen. There were endless vendors lined up on opposite sides of the streets, different buildings everywhere in many shapes in sizes. He felt as if he stepped back into the renaissance time period or something, seeing everything so undeveloped. Was this really the Underworld?

"Look everyone, Lord Kazekage is back!" a street vendor shouted happily. Others begin to notice their beloved Lord as well and began cheering loudly.

"Everyone must love you here Gaara," Naruto said to the redhead as the horses made their way through the crowded streets. Many commoners bowed their head in respect while others presented various goods to give to their lord.

"It wasn't always that way," Gaara replied as he reached over the blonde to grab an offered fruit from a random vendor. "Here."

Naruto took the apple like fruit and bit into it carefully. It was fairly sweet and very ripe as he continued to munch on it. He took in all the surrounding, the variety of colors and people that inhabited the place. The houses looked like they were made from a sort of clay material and were built very closely to each other. Everyone looked so happy and everything was simply lively.

"It's so different here," the blonde pointed out. He didn't receive a reply as Gaara maneuvered them out of the busy area, into a more remote forest. He noticed Kankuro quickly ride up beside them, as the vast amount of space finally allowed him so.

"The castle is sectioned off from the main town, so if anything ever happens, it would be more convenient that way. "Kankuro explained. "We're almost to the castle though so hang in there."

Naruto nodded and kept silent as the older brother strode ahead quickly just as jovial as the villagers. He frowned vaguely to himself, there was such a tense atmosphere between Gaara and him, to the point where it was undeniably uncomfortable. They rode on forever in quietness; the horse slowing down to a snail like pace. The blonde constantly listened to the sounds that nature had to offer, seeing as it was the only thing he was familiar with. Being so distracted, it wasn't a surprise as he gasped when Gaara prodded his side to get the boy's attention.

"We're here." the redhead indicated, nodding his head forward towards a distinct object in the distant.

Naruto squinted his eyes and noted what the Lord was signaling to. As the horse came closer to their destination, the magnificent castle that stood amongst the throngs of greenery became more and more breathtaking. It looked to be made of the same material as the small houses but was much more luxurious. There were splashes of indigo on the roof tops and beige bricks aligned on top of each other creating a massive stair way leading to the entrance. There were at least ten guards outside awaiting the Lord's return as he noticed the horse had come to a halt. He felt Gaara easily slide off the horse onto the ground, and saw Kankuro do the same. Naruto carefully lifted his legs and heaved it over the large horse, landing on the soil with a soft thud as well.

"Welcome to the Western land Naruto," Kankuro invited as he walked over to comfort the blonde. "Or as we like to call it here, Suna."

Naruto gulped slightly at the change of scenery but, replied back with a huge brightening smile. Unrelatedly to all that had happened, he would have to make the best out of it.

...

**A/N: So the chapter is over! I felt as if this was more of a filler and I'm sorry if the story is going at such a fast pace. I'm trying to slow it out because I really want to develop the characters and bring depth to the story line. I'm already writing the next chapter so hopefully it comes out faster. Thanks for reading and please do review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey Everyone! I know my apologies will never be enough to cover the fact that I haven't updated in forever. I was on vacation and being on vacation means no writing too I guess ha-ha (gets objects thrown at her). Truthfully though, I have been writing but just at a super turtle with three broken legs pace. This chapter was very hard to complete because I just wanted to skip over it completely. It's like one of those bridge chapters however, so I had to finish it. I hope it goes over well with you guys nevertheless, and I do apologize if there are any major mistakes. On towards the chapter!**

Chapter 11

A New Change

...

Naruto climbed into bed that night exhausted because of the day's events. He groggily stared up at the ceiling, trying to find a sort of pattern to count in order to fall asleep faster. Earlier that evening after they arrived at Suna, the blonde was immediately given lodging of the highest extravagance the Western Kingdom had to offer. He thanked Gaara a million times over for such indulgence but the redhead simply nodded it off. The whole day consisted of Kankuro showing him around the castle grounds and basically giving him the rundown of the place. Naruto met many servants and Gaara's crazy sister as well. He distinctly remembered her name to be Temari. She was inside waiting for her brothers when they arrived and like Kankuro stated before, all three siblings held nothing in resemblance to each other. Temari had bright blonde hair that could equally match up to Naruto's. Out of the three though, she looked to be the oldest and the most intelligent. The only problem was that she was so hot tempered sometimes; rationality almost always flew out the door. One thing was for sure, she was definitely more out there. Upon their return, she was instantly cursing at the two. She blamed most of the fault on Kankuro though, seeing as he barely escaped with many bruises and Gaara not even a scratch.

Naruto chuckled now as he turned in his bed, reminiscing about how she reminded him so much of Iruka's mother hen mode. He smiled sadly to himself, thinking about Iruka…and how much he missed him. Tossing back and forth in the bed, he let the silky fabric caress him to sleep. Hoping the next day would bring more positive light on finding a way home.

...

The sun was shining marvelously in the sky as the sun began to rise. The wind blew breezily through the blonde's unruly hair. His eyes were droopy from lack of sleep but he still kept a stiff posture, not showing any sign of weakness. It had been three days since Naruto's kidnapping and even though they were traveling as fast as possible, Minato still wasn't satisfied. Maybe he wanted to save Naruto to ease the guilt of being a bad parent but more than that, he just wanted the boy back, he wanted his son home. However; fate always seemed to be fighting against him.

"How close are we Kakashi?" Minato asked, trying to distract himself from the negative thoughts.

"Close, I think I can almost see the entrance ahead." The silver haired man replied back, equally as exhausted. Both men moved quickly, not wanting any extra luggage, since they wanted to arrive as fast as possible. The two of them chose to go travel by foot instead, seeing as the animals would have to stop for nourishment, and besides both elite demons were built with higher stamina anyway.

Lord Namikaze sped up a bit more as they neared the black gates that signified entrance into the Uchiha's district. The way the underworld worked was that all lands were separated equally among small villages, the villages resided in either one of the four divisions that consisted of a main lord. There were the southern, western, northern, and eastern divisions with the Lord of the Underworld residing in the center. Ironically, no one really enjoyed living in the center capital because of the King's tyranny ruling but, that was where the majority of the business and trade was.

"I don't want Fugaku to know that we're here just yet," Minato yelled back to a lagging Kakashi. He saw his student nod and quickly rounded past the gate to find a more secluded and unguarded part. The Uchiha's were big on not letting intruders in but what they didn't know was sneaking in was just as easy as sneaking out.

...

When both men finally made it into the town through the back, Minato decided it would be best to get into the castle and search first. He didn't want to announce his presence to the King and have the guy lock Naruto up for blackmail.

"Do you think it's best for us to wander through the woods into the castle though?" Kakashi asked tiredly, not sure if he had enough energy to explore anymore. Although getting into the town was easy, the Uchiha's castle was a different story.

"It's the best way to get inside. No one ever travels these forests from what I've heard. We have to find Naruto before anything." Minato replied back sternly.

"If you're looking for Naruto he isn't here anymore," a voiced startled the two from behind.

Minato quickly turned around, seeing no one until a shadow steadily revealed itself out from behind a nearby tree.

"Uchiha!" he heard Kakashi murmur out heatedly. His pupil was about to strike the calm boy when Minato quickly grabbed the tempered man back. Sasuke Uchiha stood his ground in front of two angry demons, not even batting an eyelash at Kakashi's scowl. He was definitely no candidate for Minato's son.

"No Kakashi, we have to think rationally." The older blonde stated out. He glared daggers at the younger demon who was the cause of all the problems they were experiencing.

"Where's my son Uchiha," the Namikaze growled out, anger apparent to anyone within a five feet radius.

"Like I said before, he's not here anymore. If he was, I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you two." Sasuke replied back as emotionless as he felt. Minato frowned at the disrespect and felt his patience breaking by the second. The Uchiha was just about to walk away and begin his journey to look for Naruto when a hand pushed him forward against a tree, his face colliding unpleasantly with the harsh bark.

"You listen here you little bastard, my son is not an object you can just take and toss as you please. I am the Lord Namikaze of the Southern land and if you don't start talking, I will surely wage war against your father." Minato spat out furiously. He wanted to be as nonviolent as possible but something about the brat's uncaring attitude pushed the blonde passed his limitations.

Kakashi was in awe at how quickly Minato had moved but was certainly going to reprimand the guy for being so hypocritical.

"So, what happened to thinking rationally?" Kakashi sighed out, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at his elder smugly, but understood completely. If it was Kakashi in that position, he would do the same. The blonde chose not to reply but slowly let the young Uchiha go, and backed away in shame.

"My apologies Kakashi," Minato replied like a child who had been scolded. "Now start talking brat."

Sasuke slowly recomposed himself after the abrupt pin and dusted off some imaginary dirt on his shirt. He stood proudly, even though he was just manhandled, and turned to face the two. He knew exactly who the other two demons were but his pride wouldn't allow any sort of weakness in front of anyone. Yes, he knew that he lost Naruto. It was his fault that the younger blonde's location was unknown but he couldn't admit it. He would find Naruto, like those years before; Sasuke would be patient and search.

"I won't repeat myself." He restated back and disappeared onto thin air.

The blonde quickly ran to the spot where the Uchiha once stood but Sasuke was completely gone.

"Dammit," Minato cursed out. "He got away."

"He probably transported somewhere else," Kakashi stated, walking up towards his superior. "I don't think Sasuke has a reason to lie to us on why Naruto wouldn't be here…"

The Lord shook his head in doubt, and looked into the sky for some truth. "I don't know. He could just be lying to us so we'd leave. There's no telling what he's up to."

Kakashi nodded in agreement and urged them both to find somewhere to rest. For some odd reason, he noticed the young Uchiha's stiff posture and difference in attitude. The silver-haired man was a master mind when it came to reading people. Although Minato could have been right about Sasuke lying to them, something was unquestionably off.

...

Naruto was dragged out of bed early the next morning to meet with the Kazekage before his daily duties began. The boy yawned tiredly as he sluggishly made his way to Gaara's private study. Once there he noticed a young maid waiting unwearyingly outside the door. She had soft curls flowing out of her cap and her dress nearly touched the ground he noted.

"I hope you had a good sleep Naruto-kun, my name is Mina." She explained as she opened the door to reveal Gaara's private room. "The Lord Kazekage asked me to provide services to you, if you wouldn't mind returning to the room after the meeting; I'll have your bath set up for you."

"Thank you and I will," Naruto replied back courteously and entered inside. The room wasn't as lavished as the one back in the Uchiha Kingdom but it was still very elegant. His eyes scanned the surrounding curiously, taking note that it was probably more of Gaara's character to keep everything more plain and simple.

"Naruto, sit." The redhead asserted out to the younger man as he stepped in. The boy nodded in response and sat in the offered chair as Gaara rounded the corner.

"So…did you want to talk to me about something?" Naruto asked, clasping both hands together in anticipation. He wondered quietly to himself, if he'd done anything wrong to offend the lord.

"I remembered where I heard your name before. It was a while back when I was looking through some documents, your Lord Namikaze's son, aren't you?"

Naruto jumped back a little at the accusation, a little startled that Gaara had found out so quickly about him. It was true that Naruto was the Namikaze's son but what would Gaara do to him if he confirmed the statement.

"Are you going to send me to my father?" Naruto asked a bit hesitantly, gauging Gaara's reaction.

"You don't want me to do that? I would think that the reunion between you and Lord Namikaze is something that you'd wish for." The red head answered, leaning against the table, arms crossed over each other.

Naruto thought about it for a second, if he truly wanted to see his dad, the father that abandoned him long ago. Could he simply just run back to him without giving the man any judgment?

"I honestly don't know how to answer you on that Gaara." Naruto replied a bit dejectedly. "I don't think I want to face my father just yet."

There was a long silence between the two as Naruto kept his gaze averted from the young lord, different thoughts rushing through his mind. He attentively heard the rustling of cloth as Naruto figured Gaara must have went to sit back down. His thoughts were confirmed as the chair scratched loudly at the floor from being moved. He wondered idly on what Gaara's response and slowly raised his head a little to catch sight of the Kazekage. Gaara had both arms propped up on his desk, hands linked together at the top to create leverage for his chin. His eyes were shut gently and a calm look was marred across his face. Naruto felt his stiff posture diminish at seeing the Kazekage's calm state.

"Hey, Gaara?" Naruto finally spoke up a bit tentatively, not really wanting to ruin Gaara's serene expression.

The other opened his eyes at the mention of his name and stared at the blonde, his look reverting back to a regular passive face.

"So…are you going to send me to my father?" Naruto asked.

Gaara didn't reply and simply scooted his chair back. Naruto watched in anticipation as the other stood and walked towards a big window frame to his left. The sunlight was lightly cascading through the window pane, casting a warm glow on the always serious Gaara. It created almost an angelic aura around the powerful man.

"It's not my decision to make…it's yours. If you wanted to stay here in Suna to train or advance in your studies of this world, it's your choice." The lord replied back finally. He placed an open palm on a warm panel, which instantly heated anything through a mere touch. "So, are you going to go back to your own father?" Gaara asked this time, using the blonde's own words against him.

The blonde bit his lip from replying back so suddenly and decided to think it over for a bit. "Can I tell you by the end of the day or something? This is all a bit sudden for me."

He received no words, just a nod of approval as Gaara waved his hand up. It was a clear sign of dismissal so the blonde rapidly stood up. Not knowing what to do, Naruto bowed down respectfully before heading out the door and hastily closing it behind him. When Gaara was certain the boy had left he walked towards the window and opened it slightly to let a cool breeze inside. Looking outside and seeing the greenery that surrounding the land was a breath taking sight. Rarely did he ever have a chance to journey so far out of Suna and sometimes, he wanted a life on his own too.

The redhead closed his eyes for a second and thought about what to do. Naruto was being too indecisive and childish to understand the big picture. Gaara licked his dry lips to moisten them up as he whistled a piercing sound through the open space. There was stillness for a long time until a small flying figure appeared in the distance of the sky.

It wasn't soon after until the beautiful white phoenix made its way to Gaara, swooping down quickly to take rest on his out stretched arm. The Kazekage petted it lovingly as he maneuvered the bird inside the office to its usual spot.

"How are you today Ijen?" Gaara said to the creature as he walked back towards his desk. The bird bowed its head down knowingly and then cocked it back up in a swooshing motion. He set her closer to the surface so Ijen could jump down and rest.

The redhead smiled and looked at the bird with complete adoration as it settled down. It was truly a magnificent creature and again, one of the last of its kind. Most mystical creatures resided in the West for protection against poachers and other predators. Gaara had a zero tolerance for others preying on the weak, even if it was for survival. He knew too well that feeling of being helpless and despised it with a passion. That was mainly the reason why he chose to save the Namikaze's son.

Another thing he hated was traveling to the Uchiha's Kingdom but nonetheless, it was necessary to get the item he needed. Gaara was rushing to get back to Kankuro before anyone spotted them but fortunately ran into the blonde. It was odd, Gaara thought, because at that moment when the assassin threw those shuriken, the blonde boy just closed his eyes. Who in the world closes their eyes during a battle? Without thinking, he blocked the weapons with his sand and flung a kunai at the attacker, killing the attacker instantly.

He remembered thinking what an idiot the blonde was for not defending himself but was glad he didn't voice out that thought. The redhead shook away the memory and focused back on what he was set to do. Taking out a writing utensil and a piece of rough paper, Gaara wrote a letter to inform the Namikaze of Naruto's where about. He'd met the older blonde many times before when they had alliance meetings or were visiting the South. Never once though, did the Minato mention anything about a son. He only heard rumors about a lost son but then that document he found confirmed his suspicions. The document revolved around the alliance of both Western and Southern divisions. If anything should happen to Minato, his son should be the next consultant for whatever reasons of negotiation. That solved the mystery quickly because if the Lord didn't have an heir, it would be pointless to include that in.

Regardless of that information, Gaara was indeed indebted to Minato for various reasons and letting the Lord know about Naruto's situation would only be justifiable. Irrespective of what Naruto decided later on, Gaara would have to do what was strategically correct. If anything were to happen to Naruto under the Kazekage's watch without the father's knowing, there would be hell to pay. His division wouldn't suffer over a small family feud.

The redhead walked leisurely back to Ijen and stroked her feathers gently as she leaned into the touch.

"Lord Namikaze of the Southern Kingdom," Gaara whispered lowly enough for her to hear.

Picking Ijen up tenderly, he inserted the note into a cylinder that was tied to her leg. She didn't like being handled too roughly and could definitely protect herself if she had too. Thus, the redhead cautiously got her to the window and set her free, knowing well the intelligent bird knew where to find the blonde lord. He was forever intrigued by the minds of a phoenix and their independence but somehow, Ijen always returned to him. So everyone just deemed Ijen as his pet but she wasn't his to own. Ijen was as free as anyone that resided in their kingdom, and Gaara would deny ownership to the end.

The mystical creature nodded in comprehension and flew off into the blue horizon. The Kazekage watched her wings flap periodically back and forth before closing the window and walking back towards his desk. He began with his work again, signing documents diligently as time slowly ticked by.

...

After the meeting with Gaara, Naruto merely walked back to his room as requested. Upon opening the door he walked in to see the maid from before standing at the table with a red towel pressed against her chest, arms crossed over gently to secure the fabric.

"Your bath is ready for you Naruto-kun. I'll set the towel down here. When you're done there will be clothes set out and ready for you." The maid explained and laid the towel softly onto the mahogany table.

"Thank you, I hope you didn't have to stand there and wait too long for my return." Naruto replied, feeling a bit guilty if she had.

"Thank you for your concern Naruto-kun, you're very kind. But it is my duty and so my well-being doesn't factor into this position." She stated back promptly, leaving no room for any more disagreement. She smiled affectionately at him and Naruto couldn't help but return the gesture.

"I apologize, Mina," Naruto answered. "If you wouldn't mind me asking, where's the bath?"

She pointed to a door to the left and clarified that it was adjoined to his bedroom. The blonde nodded his thanks and strode towards the destination soundlessly as Mina excused herself out. He made sure to grab the towel before entering into the bath. When he opened the door, the blonde was assaulted with a fresh citrus aroma filling the air all around him. Naruto allowed the scent to calm his body and release any stress that had been piling from the past couple of days. Gradually he lifted his shirt over his head, just realizing that he'd been wearing the same thing for the past three days. The blonde chuckled to himself at the irony that it really didn't smell too bad. Tossing it aside carelessly, he went to unbuckle the button that clasped his pants together.

After everything was sloppily thrown onto the ground he lightly dipped a feet into the giant wooden tub that took almost half of the entire room. It was surely big enough to fit at least three or four people. Feeling that the water was in a semi-warm state, Naruto easily relaxed into the tub and let all his worries fade along with the grime. Leaning back against the side of the tub, he couldn't help but sigh out in relief because the water really made him feel content. It gave Naruto such a warm and fuzzy feeling he couldn't help but not want to get out of the tub at all. For that second, everything seemed perfect. The reality that his life was actually spiraling uncontrollably didn't even cross his mind and that feeling was truly wonderful.

As soothing as the moment was however, the water soon turned cold and Naruto had to get out, or risk pneumonia. He got out carefully and grabbed at the red towel, noticing his hand had pruned a bit. The blonde rubbed the droplets of water off his body quickly and wrapped it around his waist securely. Feeling a little better because of the bath, Naruto happily opened the door to the bedroom but was quickly reminded of where he was. This wasn't his bathroom he was stepping out of and this certainly wasn't his room. Walking over to the desk, he noticed the clothing that Mina had brought for him and let the towel slip off to the floor. Touching the fabric of the outfit, he awed at the fine quality and absolutely had to rub it against his face because it was so smooth.

He could only imagine the fine silk against his body and swiftly slipped the first piece of garment over her head. It was simply a light cotton tunic with a sturdy silk vest that wrapped around his body comfortable. His pants reminded him immensely of the horse rider bottoms, very form fitting and comfy in fact. After getting properly dressed, he walked over to the gemstone mirror hanging on the wall near the dresser to examine his looks. It was true; clothes really did do a lot to a person's appearance. Naruto shamelessly ran his eyes over the person standing in the mirror, so unrecognizable. The clothes fit him perfectly and did nothing but enhanced his features even more because of the light colored material. If any stranger were to look upon him now, they would have never guessed that the boy was from a different world. It seemed as if Naruto would fit in right along.

Just as he was admiring his image in the mirror, a loud knock sounded through the quiet room. The blonde jumped a little but quickly recovered and replied for the guest to come in. Surprisingly the Kazekage stepped through, eyes wandering around to find him. It didn't take long for light aquamarine eyes to land on the stunning figure in the room. It was the most expression Naruto had seen on the Kazekage as he smiled at the redhead.

"I clean up quite well right?" Naruto boasted whilst Gaara just shook his head. Only Naruto could say that without sounding like an arrogant brat but it was the truth. He did look different with his new attire. No one would even be able to tell that Naruto was an outsider with his rich aristocratic features.

"Are you ready to start your studies then?" Gaara asked, not commenting on Naruto's last question. It was probably a rhetorical question anyway.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Naruto answered truthfully, taking one last glance at the mirror. He was determined to succeed and would be resilient all the way.

...

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support! I hope this chapter did satisfy some of everyone's curiosity and I promise next chapter should be more exciting! Please do review and constructive criticisms are always welcomed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: There's probably nothing I could do to make all of you guys forgive me for such a long wait. But I ask for no forgiveness, I know it's been a while. I apologize for any mistakes in this chapter and for the length. It's another bridge chapter, I'm so sorry. On to the story though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Chapter 12**

**Until Then**

…

"Naruto, you'll never learn how to fight if you can't properly use a weapon." Kankuro jaded the blonde as he tried his hand at a sword. The other man huffed angrily and threw the weapon away to grab at the smaller objects. Even though Suna offered the most advance weaponry out of all the divisions, Naruto still couldn't adjust to any of them.

"I've never seen Gaara with a weapon before, why can't I use the sand like him?" Naruto muttered out to his teacher for the moment, dropping to the floor in exhaustion. He wanted to get stronger so others wouldn't have to protect him all the time. But at this rate, Naruto wasn't getting anywhere and they'd been going at it all day.

"That's because he's an incubus, different demons have certain powers that are drawn to them. For Gaara, it's the sand." Kankuro explained, plopping down next to the blonde. "Say blondie, I haven't asked til now but, what's your story anyway?"

Naruto turned to Kankuro, silently debating if he should tell him the truth. The guy had been nothing but helpful throughout the week, he deserved some honesty for being so patient.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not actually from this…world." Naruto began, a bit hesitant on the reaction he was going to get. "I live in the human world but was taken here unwillingly."

Kankuro shrugged a bit, not at all affected by the comment. "Dude, happens all the time here. That's why there's so many cambions runnin around."

Naruto's mouth hung agape at the reaction, not expecting it at all. So kidnapping here was okay, that was the oddest thing ever.

"Hey," Kankuro joked, laughing lightly at the stunned expression the blonde was sporting. "Don't stress man, some incubuses need a lot of energy to sustain their life force and unfortunately, demons in this world can't provide it. It's just a matter of survival ya know?"

The blonde nodded absently at the comment and stared up into the open space. The scenery was so breathtakingly beautiful, he wondered if it was sane to feel so serene in such a new environment.

"You ready to continue then?" Kankuro asked standing up and stretching out his muscles.

"Yeah," Naruto replied back, none too enthusiastically. He grabbed at the brunette's offered hand and stood up slowly. A small frown was still marred across his features until Kankuro slapped his back playfully.

"Cheer up; it's not that bad here. I've been to the human world plenty of times to know that yal need some help with it." The brunette tried, added in a funny grin. Naruto chuckled at the comment, knowing too well how true it was.

…

"With all due respect Lord Namikaze, what are we doing?" Kakashi questioned the wandering blonde. They both had been walking around the forest for hours now and with no luck in getting closer to the castle either.

"Do you think Fugaku put some sort of barrier around his home? That would be the only explanation as to why we can't find it?" the Namikaze explained more to himself than his pupil. Kakashi just sighed irritably and followed after the man. It was no use, talking to the older blonde. Knowing that all his questions would be ignored, Kakashi simply kept quiet. Even though Minato was busy musing to himself about the dark lord's tricks, the silver haired man didn't say a word.

Much to the student's luck, he caught sight of a majestic animal circling above their location. It looked fairly familiar but he couldn't put a finger on where he'd seen it before.

"Minato, look to the sky." Kakashi blurted out abruptly. Lord or not, the blonde was seriously beginning to get on his nerves with the constant mutterings.

"Is that Ijen?" Minato asked, finally snapping out of thought as his blue eyes trailed the blue sky. As the blonde expected, the white phoenix easily swooped down gracefully towards the pair. Minato held out his arm expectantly for the mystical bird to land on. He almost flinched when those strong wings flapped wildly before steadying. Luckily for the Namikaze, Ijen was quite fond of his presence.

"Why is Gaara's messenger here?" Kakashi said, walking towards the magnificent creature. He was only blessed to see her once when they were traveling through Suna for negotiations. Once though, was enough to capture anyone's admiration for the gallant animal. The only problem was it only took a liking to certain people. Get too close to her and she could effortlessly snap your fingers off. Finally reaching the pair, Kakashi watched in fascination as Minato stroked her feathers gently.

"Hey Ijen, what have you got for me?" the lord asked softly. Ijen took great pleasure in the touch but lifted her leg to show to message she was sent to deliver. Without hesitation, the blonde calmly opened the cylinder and watched the small parchment of paper roll out. His heart began to race faster, hoping the Western Lord didn't have any catastrophic news to share. Minato almost didn't even notice Ijen taking flight, using his arms a lever to propel forward into the sky. The blonde's eyes stayed glued to the paper as he slowly opened it to view the small scribbling it had.

Kakashi's eyes stayed glued to the bird, watching her disappear before gazing back to the lord. He saw Minato's face scrunch tightly trying to read the small print before his eyes widen drastically.

"What happened?" the silver haired pupil inquired, concern lacing with his question. He stepped closer to the blonde and grabbed at the paper. Eyes scanning over it quickly, he knew the reason for the astonished look. His focus returned back to the blonde lord and waited for the other to say something.

"Minato…"Kakashi began, watching the usually talkative man fall quiet.

"I guess he doesn't want to see me…" the Namikaze slurred out sadly. "After all this time…I just wanted to protect him."

"You're wrong, Lord Kazekage didn't state that Naruto didn't want to see you," Kakashi reassured, trying to help the situation. "I know Naruto cares about you or else he wouldn't even bother to ask about you. Just give him time to adjust."

The other was silent for the longest time before gaining a bit of confidence back in his gaze. "You're right Kakashi," Minato answered back. "...but I can read between the lines. I know I did wrong by not being there but maybe time will heal his wounds."

Kakashi only nodded absently to agree with the other. "So what do we do now?" He questioned.

"We return home, and we wait."

…

"How did training go with Kankuro today?" the lord Kazekage stated to the blonde. It was just half past midday and the sun was getting ready to dip back into the horizon. Both red head and blonde were walking through the corridors to the dining room for supper.

"It was okay…except I don't think I'm good at using weapons." Naruto replied back sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head out of habit.

"It takes a bit to get used to." Gaara tried to console the other, "but maybe some more practice can help you in the future."

Naruto nodded, heeding in the lord's advice but thought steadily on what Kankuro had said before. If it was true that all incubuses had a sort of power, then he should have some too right? Considering he was half incubus, maybe instead of learning to fight, he could utilize that specialty.

"Hey Gaara, Kankuro told me that incubus has certain energies or forces that are drawn to them …" the younger boy started. "So does that mean I have it too?"

"It depends," the Kazekage replied honestly. "It's true that incubus has different powers drawn to them but, that isn't always the case."

"What do you mean?"

Gaara stopped in mid step and looked to Naruto for a brief second before continuing. "I am correct to say that you're a cambion right?"

The blonde nodded his head to confirm the lord's accusation. He wondered idly if Gaara disliked cambions too. The way Kankuro had mentioned it earlier; he felt a bit of aversion that came with it.

"Don't worry, I'm also a cambion." Gaara hesitantly let out, more for the blonde's reassurance. "My father was the late Kazekage. He fell in love with a human woman and I was the offspring of that affair. Because of the tragedy that follows a human lover with an incubus, my mother died shortly after because her body was far too weak."

Naruto listened intently on edge with every word the young lord spoke out. He couldn't believe Gaara entrusted him enough to speak about such an intimate topic.

"During that time, cambions were looked down upon and shunned because of their differences. No demon dared to mate with one for the shame it would bring to their reputation. All that fuss started to change though, when news got out that cambions didn't have to leech off of others for strength. To top it off, it was actually better to mate with a cambion because their life force seemed to be stronger than humans."

"So that's it, everything just worked out in the end?" Naruto probed.

"No, there's still a very strong resentment but fortunately, it is getting better rather than worst." Gaara answered back. He averted his gaze and quickly caught the blonde's azure eyes. "But I'm glad Naruto that you weren't here to experience that time of darkness. It may not appear so harsh me explaining it to you now but, many were prosecuted, tortured, and killed for the sole reason of being a cambion."

Naruto could only stare back in shock at the coldness in those aquamarine eyes. It was seeping through his skin and into his soul, trying to convey those desperate feelings of rejection. The blonde didn't know what to do nor did he know what to say. Quickly, he shook his head to the side, snapping away to look at something else. Anything else would be better than Gaara's lonely, bottomless stare.

"Let's keep going," the Kazekage stated, trying to ease the tension away. Maybe it was a bit too much to say all of those things to the blonde just now. "I took into consideration, your thoughts concerning the Lord Namikaze and I figured it'd be best to keep your whereabouts unknown."

"You think so?" Naruto answered back, grateful for the change of subject. "I totally forgot about that."

"It doesn't matter. When you're ready to face him, I'll send word that you are here." Gaara complied, not exactly revealing the whole truth.

"Honestly though, me being ready is going to take some time…" Naruto responded. "Maybe even years…before I'm ready."

"That's fine as well. You don't realize it now Naruto, but time in the Underworld goes by very fast."

….

Sasuke's eyes peered out into the endless mirage of greenery. If it were any other time, he would be marveling at the site of nature and awing at the raw beauty of it all. But this was not just another regular day. His eyes scanned the surrounding, searching for any signs of movement and any color of blonde. It wasn't fair. How was it possible that after finally capturing Naruto, he would lose him again? The demon wanted to howl, wanted to scream, wanted to tear something apart but it was pointless. He knew that it was his fault.

"I was careless and because of that I lost you, Naruto." Sasuke whispered into the wind. Standing on the tallest tree that overlooked almost the whole Kingdom, the raven slumped against the trunk. Both feet steadily anchored his position on the thick branch as Sasuke looked once more to the setting sun. Eyes glazed over with pain, he had to turn away from the sun's familiar warmth. A warmth that reminded him so much of another person.

_How long will it be til I can touch you again...Naruto._

…

**A/N: Yea I know, its super short but hopefully the next chapter will be more exciting and longer. I don't wanto to make any promises but I'll try my best! Please review and don't stop reading! I'll finish this story for sure!**


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